Local Project Booyah youth program graduates set for brighter future after graduating from a state based youth training program which has been so successful it has seen a decrease in reoffending by 80 per cent.
Senior Constable Greg Newman has been in charge of Project Booyah since 2019 and believes the success of the program is based around reconnecting disengaged teenagers with their community and helping them to transition back into education or work.
“Project Booyah has been delivered by Nambour based police officers and uses a variety of educational strategies not always seen in the normal school setting. These strategies have continued to produce outstanding results since the program first commenced on the Gold Coast in 2012.
“Our data on graduates over the past four years shows a decrease in reoffending and victimisation by up to 80 per cent and the flow on effect has seen participants re-engage in education while improving employment opportunities. We also provide ongoing mentoring for the next two years to guide our graduates through their transition to further education and employment opportunities,” Snr const Newman said.
“We simply cannot do what we do without the support of the local community including the Bli Bli Neighbourhood Watch who have provided breakfast to all of the cohort since 2019. Local businesses are also involved including Bli Bli Priceline Pharmacy where manager Kam Shirzadi has donated a host of toiletry items for male and female participants and we have also had significant financial support from the developers of Parklakes Central Peter Shadforth and Robert Flipp.”
Edith Blanck Area Coordinator for Bli Bli Neighbourhood Watch said Project Booyah was playing an important role in the ongoing youth crime crisis.
“This program is truly unique and I am not surprised it has achieved a success rate of up to 80 percent. It’s been wonderful to see another crop of graduates complete the program and re-engage into further education or employment. There’s also a female programme which will begin after these school holidays and participants will graduate in late September.
“As always, funding for these types of programs is limited so it’s great that local organisations like Parklakes Central contribute to the overall success of young people within our community. Peter Shadforth and Robert Flipp have been involved in the Parklakes developments for many years and their ongoing support has included working with us on our Bli Bli Unite FunRun in aid of Victims of Domestic Violence and with our Youth Program Skate Park competition. They’ve always been very supportive of the local community and they have indicated they will continue to do so into the future,” Edith said.
The latest Sunshine Coast Project Booyah cohort have graduated after a 16-week police mentoring program focused on supporting at-risk and disengaged young people build self-esteem and resilience.
The program is run by the Queensland Police Service, in partnership with the Police Citizens Youth Club (PCYC), and the local community.
Program participants are often considered at-risk in the community and many have disengaged from their schooling or community.
The program works to develop teen’s leadership, social, literacy and numeracy skills, to put them on a pathway towards improving their health, education, employment opportunities and connection to community.
Project Booyah Sunshine Coast Police Coordinator Senior Constable Greg Newman said the program’s recent attendees, eight boys who graduated on Friday 21 June were local teenagers who had come into the program disengaged from their community and lacking direction and have grown into capable, valued members of our community.
“Throughout the program we teach them about healthy relationships, controlling their emotions, and the impacts of drugs and alcohol,” Snr const Newman said.
“Everything we do is focused on growing their confidence, self-esteem and resilience and reconnecting them with their community, including school, training and employment.”
In additional to graduation certificates, a past program participant was awarded the inaugural Crossroads Award.
“This award acknowledges a participant that has come to the program at a crossroads in their life, but has committed themselves to the learning experience.
“As program facilitators, we are meant to be teaching the teenagers, but in fact, sometimes their life experiences, resilience and wisdom teaches us.”
As graduates, the cohort will remain connected to the program through regular contact from the program facilitators to support them achieve their goals.
