Successful youth program fights for funds – isn’t there a better way?
11,500 women wanted to stand up, go pink, and be counted……a Friday night footie curtainraiser!
April 20, 2005Victorian Uni students establish an indigenous solidarity network – inaugural Camp at Barmah Lakes
April 20, 2005Once again the case for ‘place-based aggregation of public funds’ which could allow communities to prioritise funding according to local needs bears thinking about. The successful YouthBiz program in Hamilton, western Victoria, has existed on a funding knife edge over the past few years. Established in 1997 it deals with concerns facing young people aged 12-25 and is the only funded youth program in the region. It has in excess of 2500 contacts per year, offering support, drug and alcohol counselling, family planning, study and jobskills programs, housing and accommodation assistance and access to health information.
The $60,000 YouthBiz funding, subsidised by Western District Health Service (WDHS), has provided a youth worker position which has been a feeder for other programs and spin offs from YouthBiz have attracted their own funding (the 10MMM project, Freeza events and Hip Hop Happenings).
The Glenelg and Southern Grampians Primary Care Partnership recommended recurrent funding but it appears the Department of Human Services, in a 2004 funding review, redirected the $60,000 to ‘other areas’. If WDHS redirects funds internally, as DHS recommended, asthma, diabetes, incontinence or women’s health programs would suffer.
Some points of view to consider on this all too common problem:
(1)The Member for Western Province, David Koch, is quoted recently by the Hamilton Spectator saying the Government must listen to youth and be prepared to respond…instead of churning out rhetoric and false hope.
(2)Back in 1997 a Griffith University study, in conjunction with the Department of Primary Industries, devised a ‘One-Stop-Shop model of a local community network that allowed communities to:
“prepare a four year plan for their area in partnership with other communities in established local community networks. Planning is sophisticated and assisted by Departmental appointed facilitators. This planning would be done in cooperation with relevant bodies”.
(3) Peter Ryan, before he became Leader of the Victorian National Party, is quoted in Dr Helen Sheil’s ‘Building Rural Futures through Cooperation. The Need, the Dream, the Reality’ saying:
“I have discerned that there exists in country regions a community spirit that is fundamental to the structure of our society….a capacity to give and to be involved as part of life in country Victoria. It is the desire of people to take charge of their own destinies”.
2 Comments
i stopped reading this about half way because it really is disfunctional money spending that will have no real impact.
there is always an argument to fund one against the other program this has been going for years.
the first thing we need is to get Teachers, Doctors, Nurses to keep an eye out for kids in trouble and for a government body to actually check to see that parents are iether in control or being irresponsible. with the latter you simply have to remove the parent as if they do not care what good will they be to anyone. if parent are simply have trouble coping then help them be better parents but be aware that they are not going to come to you. you will have to find them and the only way will be to enroll teachers and any other profession that is in contact with these kids to look out for the ones that are heading for trouble.
also look at our culture. every TV and Radio personality and this includes sports personalities is out there saying ridiculouse things by associating a win or celebration with alcohol / drugs and how much fun it was. GREAT stuff for young minds. i know a few kids that are literally dying to reach say 16 or 18 so they can try all this stuff and have some fun.
our society needs to grow up first you will not solve youth suicide etc by throwing money you need to be crafty and caring
paul
From what you say here Paul it seems to me that you really understand the situation out there. I agree with you about the influence our ‘heroes’ have on kids and that doctors/nurses/teachers could be identifying kids at risk and about the need to be ‘crafty and caring’. Don’t you think SOME community groups work? Do you have a picture of a workable crafty and caring alternative?