AN innovative program is giving young people leaving state care a chance to make the most of life.
Anglicare Victoria launched its Breaking the Barriers program in Sunshine on Thursday, plugging a gap that left many young people in the lurch once they hit 18.
Anglicare Victoria’s regional manager, Claire Nyblom, says young people leaving state care are at greater risk of suffering homelessness, substance abuse issues and unemployment.
She says the new program prepares them for independent living through support in finding housing, job training or employment.
“A lot of the young people we see suddenly find themselves unsupported in the adult world and don’t necessarily have the skills to lead an independent life,” Ms Nyblom says.
“They don’t know what services are available or how to access them. Some are barely surviving and not safe.”
Case workers help young people aged up
to 21 with housing, study or work opportunities.
Anglicare is working with 28 young people, and the signs are already promising. Lisa Shaw ran away from home at 15 and lived for a time on the streets. Her late teenage years involved abusive relationships and a brief stint in foster care.
“It was something I thought I would never get through – moving from place to place and not knowing where I would end up,” she says.
A case worker helped Lisa find safe, shared accommodation.
The program is helping her with rent, allowing her to return to study.
“There are a lot more young people like me who are out on the street with no back-up.”
Blayde James Johnson left home at 16 and moved into an Anglicare residential unit. Now 20, he says the program has helped him into a community service course at NMIT in Preston.
“I wouldn’t have done it if they hadn’t helped me,” he says.
Blayde wants to become a youth worker to help other young people having a rough time.
-Benjamin Millar
