To city’s troubled youths

Program helps spark Seth on to career path

We have now reoriented our system to engage with kids earlier.”

In one year, 185 at-risk students were screened — six months later 89 per cent of the students were still living at home with their families, only six students needed support for homelessness and, in 20 per cent of cases, there was a significant improvement in their home situations.

Member for Geelong Christine Couzens said success sto- ries showed the huge difference programs like The Geelong Project could make and she would continue to advocate for them. TARGETED intervention is making a difference to the lives of young people like 19-year-old Seth Punshon, who was 16 and homeless when he made contact with Barwon Child, Youth and Family.

A combination of family breakdowns, family violence and drugs had left him feeling alone, with nowhere to go.

“I felt so alone — I’ve come from family violence and I feel like a 19-year-old who raised myself,” Mr Punshon said. “I felt alone, I felt like I was a shadow.”

Mr Punshon, who was once a promising hockey player, turned to drugs.

“For me, what I was doing was putting a film (over myself). I felt that unaccepted, anyone I encountered I felt instantly unaccepted,” he said. “But in the world of drugs I was instantly accepted.”

After making contact with the Geelong service, Mr Punshon was assigned a case manager who helped him secure a job and he is a now a first-year apprentice electrician.

“Having the support made a huge difference. When you’re homeless you feel like no one cares,” he said. “What worked for me ... my case manager ... she really cares. She got me a job as a plasterer, which then helped me to get an apprenticeship because I was in a workforce and understood what work was about. BCYF does give us a chance to become someone, to go somewhere.”

Barwon Child, Youth and Family chief Sandy Morrison said intervening early led to a significant reduction in poor outcomes for young people.

“The Geelong Project is a shining example of a local community project, supported by strong leaders with a collective vision ... so young people can have the best opportunity for good life outcomes,” he said