Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Tuesday 11 March I had the pleasure of meeting with staff and participants of the Youth Connections provider in Bendigo, St Luke's Anglicare. I was briefed by staff and had the pleasure of hearing from four young participants who have participated in the program about the benefits that they have had from being involved in the Youth Connections program.

Youth Connections assists young people aged 13 to 19 who have disengaged. They are not actively involved in education. The program aims to reconnect them with education, further training and employment. Service delivery is characterised by and focused on an individual intensive case-management model—and it works. Through the work that it does, Youth Connections with the Youth Central team ensure that young people in Bendigo are staying connected. The four young people that I met with spoke about how one of them has got a full-time job working in the hospitality industry. Another had re-engaged with mainstream education and was about to start working part time in a hardware store. I was most moved though by a young woman who said that she had decided to return to school and pursue her dream of becoming a diesel mechanic in the Army. She has a career and future ahead of her.

The St Luke's team and Youth Connections are worried about funding. Funding has not been guaranteed past 2015 and I encourage the current government to consider the importance of this program in the upcoming budget.