Media Appearances

Our CEO Julie Hourigan’s recent editorials in the Gold Coast Bulletin and North West Star about youth crime and what works when breaking cycles of intergenerational incarceration.

Section from the editorial:

A surge in crime involving young people in Queensland has been followed by the introduction of strict new legislation by the Palaszczuk government to increase penalties for young people.

But evidence and research show the thing most likely to lead to violent criminal behaviour is locking up a young person in the first place.

Our work is all about stopping cycles before they can start and supporting young people who have made mistakes to get the support they so urgently need to build better futures, not only for themselves but for our whole community.

Our youth justice mentoring program, Stand As One, has been run on the NSW Central Coast since 2010, and has proven pivotal in helping address some of the major challenges young people face when re-entering the outside world.

From practical life skills such as getting a Medicare card, and finding a house to live, or work, to support staying motivated when it all seems like too much, our mentors are absolutely dedicated to helping the young people they support and are often the only people the young people feel are ‘in their corner’.

It works. More than 81 per cent of young people in the program have successfully met parole and probation conditions and not returned to custody in 12 months, while 70 per cent have found full-time employment, or are enrolled in TAFE, apprenticeships, or schools.

Read the full editorial in The Gold Coast Bulletin and North West Star, Mt Isa.

Please donate today and support vital programs with young people like ‘Stand As One’ that help change lives.