In this day and age, it’s hard to find a program that puts troubled and at risk youth back on track, which is why it is so important the government continues to support Youth Insearch.
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Tamworth magistrate Mal MacPherson is a passionate advocate of Youth Insearch and said it was the only program he’d seen work in 25 years behind the bench.
The Leader has spoken to a number of people who credit the program with helping them to turn their lives around – but you don’t have to take the anecdotal evidence, there are cold hard facts to back those stories up.
A Urbis report found only 17 per cent of Youth Insearch’s 1000 annual graduates re-offend. In contrast, the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research found 80 per cent of juveniles who commit crime between the ages of 10 and 18 will re-offend within 10 years. The program doesn’t just deal with young offenders, it helps those with depression, anxiety and social problems.
The number of people who go through Youth Insearch, and then go on to become leaders of the program is incredible. The organisation’s chief executive officer, Heath Ducker, and general manager Stephen Lewin are both graduates of the program.
Over the weekend, Youth Insearch held its final camp for the year – but hopefully, not its final camp ever – at Lake Keepit. The program makes a big deal out of its December camp, because for many of the roughly 60 kids going, it will be the only Christmas they have.
Social Services Minister Christian Porter maintains there “has been no reduction in funding”. However, the funding stream reshuffle within his department essentially equates to a funding cut, as the program will not have the regular support it has enjoyed for more than a decade.
If the government is worried about value for money, the program’s numbers speak for themselves – a recent Productivity Commission report found on average it costs nearly $500,000 to keep a juvenile in detention for a year, or $1400 a day.
If this program can keep just one young person out of detention, the government has already made back the $400,000 it cost to support Youth Insearch.
There is money somewhere in the government’s budget – we can spend millions on roads and airports, but creating a healthy, happy and productive member of our community is priceless. Don’t abandon these young people.
