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Steven’s Story

Youth mentor, Steven, knows the power of investing in the lives of young people at risk of becoming offenders. In the Wagga region, around 20 per cent of crime is committed by young people aged between 10 and 18 years of age. But Steve insists that positive reinforcement and guidance are needed rather than hard line punishments.

“A lot of these young people have difficult home environments and are looking for someone they can count on. I’ve got a young kid at the moment who fell into the wrong crowd and had a lot of people give him trouble at school,” says Steven. “We’ve worked with him and mentored him and now he’s closely communicating with his teachers and setting goals, rather than breaking into cars.”

Steven is delighted by Anglicare’s commitment to fund mentoring programs in the Riverina, and wants to see more programs made available. “People are quick to criticise these young people but what people in the community need to do is take responsibility to help them turn their lives around,” he said.

Staff member at Anglicare’s Ignite mentoring program, Alarna Thomson, said in the seven months she has worked in the role, not a single teen had re-offended.

“This incredible outcome shows the impact of giving young people a safe environment and having dedicated adult role models to give them time, care and support – basically someone to champion them.”

Anglicare’s mentoring programs operate in the Riverina region and include community mentoring for at-risk young people, as well as mentoring for young offenders in the juvenile justice system.