Youth + Family

Links to Learning ‘Step up’ program is an alternative educational program for students in Years 8 and 9 at risk of disengaging from school delivered in Wagga Wagga, NSW. The program meets the educational needs of the young people, while addressing the issues and difficulties impacting on their ability to succeed in a traditional school environment. Students attend the program two days a week, while attending school for the remaining three. Students are provided with opportunities to develop personal and peer skills, improve education outcomes, gain valuable skills for future employment and work on re-engagement strategies that will support them to return to full time education.

Through the ACT Child, Youth and Family Support Program (CYFSP), Anglicare is part of Network Coordination Services, which builds collaborative partnerships between Territory funded and Australian Government funded services to promote effective communication and service provision to vulnerable children and young people in Woden, Weston Creek and South Canberra.

In addition to the above, the Network also works together to evaluate youth services and strategically develop plans to cater for growing areas of need.

YET is a youth engagement and outreach service for South Canberra, Woden and Weston Creek. The program is run as a part of the Child, Youth and Family Support Program (CYFSP) and is a partnership of two organisations, Anglicare and Woden Community Service.

YET provides community engagement and recreational activities, holiday programs, workshops, one-off assistance and can connect young people with long-term support. YET also provides short to medium term case work to young people.

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The ‘Youth at Risk’ Support Program is a targeted service, working with Indigenous Young People in Wagga Wagga. Our aim is to intervene and offer strategies for young people to reduce offending behaviours. Culturally appropriate support is tailored specifically for each young person and their situation.

Case Managers work with the young person, their community and wider networks to build resilience, promote strong relationships and encourage engagement in positive community activities. On an individual basis, the service will re-engage and support access to school or alternative education pathways.

For every young person, we want to promote cultural identity and engagement, independence and self-worth. Our team believe that young people are not defined by their offending behaviour and set out to inspire this attitude in the clients as well.

Want to find out more? Contact us today.

The JSP Casework Support Service is funded by the Department of Justice and provides a broad range of supports that assist a young person, under the supervision of Juvenile Justice, to establish positive relationships and interactions within the community. The Casework Support Service compliments Juvenile Justice case management for young people, that is centred on the delivery of offender-focused programs and interventions.

The caseworker supports the young person and their families to transition away from lifestyles that bring them into conflict with the justice system. They assist in meeting agreed target outcomes that support clients to achieve their transition goals as well as liaise and advocate with other community service representatives on behalf of the young person.

The JSP Mentoring is funded by the Department of Justice and provides regular and intensive support to young people who are transitioning into the community from custody or young people in the community under the supervision of Juvenile Justice who have been assessed as having a medium to high level risk of offending. The program aims to foster resilience, stability and a positive direction for the lives of these young people within in the NSW Riverina region.

Mentors help youth to envision and plan for a better future and assist in the steps to achieve this. The impact this program has on both the young people and mentors in terms of joint learning and cross-cultural tolerance is exceptional. The benefits as reported by the young people, the mentors as well as behavioural statistics, reflect a significant and positive change in the outlook, behaviour, attitude and maturity of the participants. They are easily able to focus on maintaining pro-social behaviours whilst in custody to continue engagement in this program once released.

To run this program successful we require volunteers from the community to become mentors. If you are interested in becoming a mentor or would like further information about this program, please contact the JSP Mentoring Coordinator, Alarna Thomson.