Young men incarcerated at the Frank Baxter Juvenile Justice Centre in Kariong NSW, are being offered a second chance at life thanks to the ‘Stand as One’ mentoring program, delivered by not for profit organisation, SHINE for Kids.
Through matching adult mentors with young offenders, Stand as One has seen tremendous results in developing trust with young people, providing stability and consistency and reducing re-offending behaviours.
The program was developed with funding support from the Future2 Foundation, the foundation of the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA), which funds community based projects to help young Australians who are socially and financially disadvantaged.
“These young people have all experienced the imprisonment of their own parents and they faced a very real risk of imprisonment in the adult criminal justice system themselves”, said Jackie Carroll, Stand as One Team Leader.
“Studies clearly indicate that reoffending is often dependent on the degree of support received by the young people upon leaving a centre, which makes Stand as One such an important and innovative project”.
Since 2010, the program has matched over 50 young offenders with adult mentors to help them successfully transition from a Juvenile Justice environment back into the community and break the cycle of offending.
“The support of Future2 has provided a very welcome boost for the program, which has been so successful it has recently been introduced into the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre, a youth detention facility located in the ACT”, said Ms Carroll.
These sentiments were echoed by a 20 year old participant in the program, who has recently started to rebuild his life in the community, “I would like to thank SHINE for Kids for giving me a second chance and I cannot say enough about the program. My mentor has done the most for me in my life, more than my family have ever done for me. If SHINE for Kids was not there I would have no one to help me out. They have given me the support and backing I need to live outside as a good man”.
SHINE for Kids is a registered charity which supports children and young people impacted by the criminal justice system across NSW, Victoria and the ACT. The organisation will be celebrating the success of Stand as One, and other initiatives, at a fundraising lunch held in partnership with KPMG in Sydney’s CBD on March 13. The event will also feature the launch of their Charity Ambassador – star of prison based drama, Wentworth, Danielle Cormack. For further details call (02) 9714 3000 or visit www.shineforkids.org.au.
Further information on the Future2 Foundation and their work in supporting socially and financially disadvantaged young Australians, can be found at .