KIDS ON RIGHT ROAD
FROM stealing cars to fixing them, troubled youths are turning their lives around through Townsville’s Yinda program.
The initiative, overseen by indigenous elders Alfred Smallwood, Rusty Butler and Wayne Parker, aims at getting youth offenders and kids at risk of getting involved in crime on to a brighter path in life.
The “U- turn” project is a new offshoot of Yinda giving participants the chance to restore cars, which will be given away to those in need or sold to further boost funds for the program.
Justin Bonadio, 16, was 12 years old when he first went to Cleveland Youth Detention Centre.
He was stealing cars, breaking into houses, shoplifting, and generally leading a life of crime.
Since joining the Yinda program last year he has turned his life around, stopped offending and is working towards a positive future.
“I’ve been to Cleveland four or five times and I used to be a high- risk offender,” Justin said. “Yinda changed my life.
“I’ve just cut myself off from the bad crowd I used to hang around and do my own thing … I would like to be a mentor one day for other kids.”
Justin wants to be a mechanic so relished the chance to participate in the U- turn program and is part of a team of four, along with Rhahmon Costello and two other boys who cannot be named because they are on youth justice orders, working on their first project car – a BMW M3.
Rhahmon has never broken the law, but was deemed at risk of getting involved in bad behaviour and said he was “doing nothing” with his life until he got involved with Yinda.
“I just hung around the wrong people and was just not doing anything,” he said.
“I want to be a mechanic, too.”
Yinda cultural mentor leader Josh Parker said the U- turn program was about giving these young people a chance to make a positive contribution to the community.
“We are getting the vehicles that have been confiscated by the Queensland Police Service and we are getting these young fellas to do a bit of work on them so they can fix them up and we have something to give back to the community,” Mr Parker said. “Whether we auction them off or we give them to families that are in need just depends on circumstances.
“If we auction it the money will be put back into the program so we can get more cars.”
Mr Parker said Yinda was now working with 24 families and seven of the original nine boys that started the program when it was initiated had not reoffended.
He said parents had to consent to their children being involved in the program but the opportunity was embraced with the elders and program workers adopting a whole- offamily approach when assisting young people.