A muddy connection to youth
by
Paylos is the ancient Greek word for mud. It also is the name of an organisation that began in 2021 by Drouin resident Luke Wilson which aims to help at-risk, young people on the fringes of society. The connection will become apparent later on but Luke says it makes sense as a lot of what the organisation does can be “messy and muddy.”
Paylos is the brainchild of Luke and is fulfilment of a passion held since early adulthood. Growing up in Dandenong, Luke had what he describes as a traumatic childhood. He faced abuse, family dislocation and found himself spending a lot of time on the streets with little to no direction.
He believes, if not for the intervention of a couple of people who gave him attention and “the time of day”, he might very well be still there.
The establishment of Paylos is the culmination of his appreciation for what these people did for him and and one of its main aims is to show others what they can achieve with support and encouragement. Paylos is a non-profit organisation in the social work space that aims to help young people in the community facing similar challenges to what Luke was presented with.
The organisation provides home-based and out of home care to young people across South-East Victoria. The main purpose of Paylos and Luke’s primary drive is to support young people who face barriers to their full potential. Paylos’ clients include people who are disconnected from society due to complex trauma, family violence, illicit substance abuse or neurodiversity. It is a registered NDIS provider which can provide either longer term or respite care to clients.
Paylos has clients across Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula, the Yarra Valley and Gippsland. It has 39 mentors who provide one on one and group services to those in need. In recent times, Paylos has taken up residence on a farming property in Shady Creek where it provides homestays and farm and adventure experiences to clients.
Luke’s theory about helping people create change in their lives is simple. He believes people connect best when doing activities they love and one of the main aims of Paylos is to connect people in nature and through outdoor adventure - this is where the mess and the mud - and hence the name Paylos comes in.
Whilst empowerment and connection are the primary focus for Paylos, they deliver it in a slightly different way to most other providers. They aim to provide life changing experiences, safe places and create genuine connections and memories. As well as farm stays they take clients on camping trips, 4WD adventures and ski trips just to name a few of the “muddy” adventures they lead.
Luke says getting through to young people via social work can be difficult. “Social work can be a bit like a parent trying to feed their child vegetables,” he says. “And like a parent trying to hide vegetables in the pasta sauce, we try to find clever ways to incorporate support to our clients. Four wheel driving, camping, fishing - they are our pasta sauce,” says Luke.
Luke’s story is an inspiring one. Growing up amidst violence and abuse he ran the risk of going down a dark path and described himself at one point as a “lost cause.” “I spent a lot of time on the street and was exposed to a lot of violence and other criminal behaviour,” he says.
Luke says the turning point for him and his brother was when he was 12 and via a donation they were able to attend a number of Christian Youth Camps (CYC) at Phillip Island. He identifies this development as crucial to him and his brother being able to escape a potential life on the street. “Being invited to these camps allowed us to see what life could be like.”
Luke says the positive role models on these camps allowed him to talk about things such as relationships and other life matters and this was a positive. “The other thing we got from these camps was more simple, but just as important. And that was simply being able to muck around like kids at the camp and the pool.”
Luke credits some of these positive memories as being vital to where he is today. For these reasons, both mentorship and memory making are an emphasis for Paylos’ work.
At 18, Luke went to university where he studied Ministry, Social Justice and Community Development before undertaking a course in therapeutic life story work. He followed this up with qualifications in youth and family services. Following this he spent some time in Cambodia working for the government helping deliver drug awareness programs. On his return he worked for a number of organisations in the child protection space including Salvation Army, Berry Street and Anglicare.
A number of Luke’s childhood friends by this stage were either in jail, institutionalised or sadly had died from drug abuse. Luke was desperate to help those he still could and he continued to study new approaches in the field to break the cycles.
Luke says he came to the conclusion that as well as the professional help and advice he received the most important factor in his journey was someone just giving him their time. “I spent a lot of time reflecting on what were the crucial ingredients for me and how I was able to get out of that world and build my own career and family,” he says.
“I think the most important ingredients weren’t trained psychologists or qualified people necessarily but simply some kind people giving me the time of day and making me feel that I was valued and worth their time.” And that is what we are trying to do at Paylos - one person at a time,” he says.
More information about Paylos and the services and support it offers can be found at - https://www.paylos.org.au/