Y Victoria and Casey RACE ran a pilot program with Jesuit Social Services (JSS) and Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY), aimed at young people from diverse backgrounds to encourage positive relationships.
Casey RACE manager Matthew Slaughter said there was an opportunity to partner with JSS and CMY to create positive change within our community.
“We offered free memberships to encourage participation. These memberships gave young people access to our facilities and were a drawcard for building relations within groups we’d faced challenges engaging with in the past,” he said.
The program included both theoretical sessions and practical activities organized by the Y, to workshop for behaviour change.
Participants were mostly young males from African backgrounds and ranged from 13 to 17 years old. The program also worked with young people from the Middle East and the Pacific Ocean.
In one session, Mr Slaughter participated in an activity where participants expressed their daily frustrations by tying knots on a rope.
Once full of knots and at its breaking point, it highlighted the consequences of pent-up emotions.
This visual example emphasized the importance of discussing and addressing personal troubles amongst a trusted peer group.
Brett Phillips from JSS said through the program, they tried to look at violence issues by discussing gender roles, masculinity, healthy identities, beliefs, and relationships.
As part of the program, participants were offered a special membership that allowed them continued access to the facilities after the program’s conclusion.
This incentive, along with the friendships formed during the program, played a crucial role in promoting improved behaviour among participants, according to Mr Slaughter.
He and his team wanted the participants to feel comfortable and connected to a community facility.
“Our aim is not just to identify and solve behavioural issues but to let growth organically occur,” he said.
“The core idea is to create a sense of community belonging through this program.”
Mr Phillips said the success of the program was largely due to the positive relationships between the three organizations.
“The fact that JSS, Y Victoria, and CMY came together and worked so well together helped create such a positive environment,” he said.
