Another doorway opens for at-risk youth

Mission Australia, in partnership with Juvenile Justice in NSW, has opened a new rehabilitation centre for youth with drug and alcohol problems.

The 50-acre property located on the banks of the Macquarie River, in regional New South Wales, has been completely remodelled to cater for eight young people aged from 13 to 18 at a time.

The new centre provides a welcome rural setting for youth to receive individualised programs including therapy, counselling and education.

James Toomey, Mission Australia’s National Operations Support Manager, told Dubbo’s Daily Liberal that the program is followed up for a further six months of outreach work after the youth leave The Mac River Centre and re-enter their community.

A community support worker will support the young person and their families when they leave the centre to help prevent relapse.

“The program is unique because of the age group targeted. Because it is aimed at 13- to 18-year-olds. It is recognised there is a need, that their age group isn’t catered for,” said Mr Toomey.

Juvenile Justice NSW Deputy Chief Executive, Valda Rusis, told The Daily Liberal that the centre aims to support young people though education and vocation to lead to a productive and healthy life.

"We have strong community networks in the area. We view this facility as a great example of a community working together to achieve good outcomes for these young people," Ms Rusis added.

This program is based on the model developed at Mission Australia’s Triple Care Farm and will help the youth learn routine responsibilities of rural life such as, feeding chickens, tending a vegetable garden and raising poddy calves.

Have your say, young Australians: Mission Australia’s National Survey of Young Australians will draw to a close in just over two weeks time, so act now if you want to be heard.

Photo:  from left, Mission Australia’s Ann Winterton, Talbragar Wiradjuri descendent Coral Peckham, Deputy Chief Executive of Juvenile Justice Valda Rusis, James Toomey of Mission Australia and Juvenile Justice’s Leonie Bender.

Photo courtesy of The Daily Liberal

Preparing for a close encounter with Bear Grylls

This week Ian Redpath, our Mission Australia Dubbo Leadership and Cultural Development Program Support Worker, is the envy of his workmates and students.

After a busy week taking his 90 Indigenous school students tenpin bowling as a reward for their application to the program, Ian will head off to Sydney to meet the ‘Man vs Wild’ star at Saturday night’s Hillsong Church service.

Ian (pictured) expects the meeting with Bear, who last year used Indigenous survival techniques during his Top End adventure, will be inspirational:

“It’s definitely an exciting opportunity – I don’t think it could be described as anything else,” he said. “He’s an international icon. It’s a great opportunity as he has experienced so much in his life and is able to motivate so many people, which is what my field also asks me to do.”

In his role, Ian leads a program that helps Aboriginal students from six Dubbo schools to gain relevant life skills through practical activities such as fishing, repairing bikes and cooking.

This week the students, who are aged between 10 and 18, were rewarded for completing educational activities.

“At the start of each term I sit down and explain that if the students show commitment to the activities, they’ll be able to do something fun,” Ian said. “So they spend three or four weeks on an activity like scrapbooking, which helps them understand the importance of creating memories and helps them to tell their stories in a non-verbal way – a lot can switch off when talking begins. 

“It’s definitely an enjoyable activity, but some of the kids struggle at first to understand why it’s important and how it can help them. So offering a reward for commitment works well.” 

While managing 90 students can be challenging, it’s also very rewarding: “It just occurred to me the other day that I learn as much from the children as they learn from me.”

All proceeds from the sale of Saturday night’s tickets will be donated to Mission Australia.

Visit Mission Australia's Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island resources page for our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), the latest indigenous news, current affairs and policy updates.

Mission Australia marks 150 years with a fundraising sleepout in Dubbo tonight

Mission Australia is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a fundraising sleepout in Dubbo this evening.

Those sleeping out will seek sponsorship for their efforts with the person raising the most money receiving a prize.

Highlight of the event will be a ‘cardboard box house making competition’ where representatives from Mission Australia services and other community agencies in Dubbo will construct their own shelter for the evening.

A BBQ will be held on the night – and for breakfast the next morning – to help raise money from passers-by for Mission Australia’s local services.

Mission Australia provides a range of programs in and around Dubbo including:

• Dubbo Leadership and Cultural Development Program – helps keep Aboriginal students aged between 9 (Year 5) and 17 (Year 11) years at school and increases their cultural awareness, identity and understanding.
• Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI) – helps people with mental illness receive care at home and keeps them in touch with their community. It also reduces their length of time spent in hospital and helps them avoid homelessness.
• Brighter Futures – provides support to vulnerable families and children as early as possible and builds their resilience to prevent problems developing in the future.
• Young Offenders Post-Release Support – supports young people after their release from the juvenile justice system. Provides positive alternatives to offending and helps with practical things such as anger management and basic living skills.
• Resource and Recovery – aimed at improving outcomes for people with mental illness by supporting them in developing personal goals with a focus on training and employment.

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