Life skills for at-risk youth
$174k funds for innovative new program
ON ANY given day, children and teenagers around Toowoomba are at risk of homelessness for a number of reasons.
It could be domestic violence, family issues, drugs, sexual assault - the list goes on.
But one Toowoomba community service organisation is providing hope for those youngsters, and giving them the opportunity to take control of their lives.
The Gateway to Dignity program, run out of Gateway House - the region’s only youth crisis accommodation provider - is there for “young people who are on the edge of homelessness”, as Gateway House service lead Jobella Bennett puts it.
The program has just received $174,398 in funding from round two of the State Government’s Dignity First Fund, enabling young people to develop resilience and life skills.
Running for just six short weeks, Gateway to Dignity mentor Toby O’Regan said it’s “amazing to see the change and trust that’s developed” in the youth along the way.
“There are young people who now have someone who they can look up to and go... I know I’m safe with you, I know I can heal and grow in this area,” Mr O’Regan said.
“And that’s powerful, life-changing stuff that’s happened in less than a month-and-a-half.”
The 19-week program involves ongoing mentoring and participants get to do something different each week.
So far the kids have worked with horses, held their own Masterchef-style competition, planted their own vegetable garden, taken part in volunteering, and next week they’ll be learning to make their own leather belts.
One of the highlights so far was heading to Nash Horse Trekking for an overnight camp, run by Carolyn and Shane Nash on their property in the Lockyer Valley.
The course also focuses on turning off technology.
“You can turn on your phone and you can just take your mind out of where you’re at without actually dealing with the issues that are potentially happening around you,” Ms Bennett said.
Gateway to Dignity and Gateway House are initiatives of United Synergies, which supports almost 4000 clients around Queensland.