Translating goals into reality – developing the Macquarie Fields Centre for Youth

Outreach Program

YOTS Outreach programs provide a safe and friendly environment for at-risk and disadvantaged young people on familiar territory. They are designed to help young people develop self-esteem, pride in their communities, and find ways to rebuild and strengthen the overall community. In Macquarie Fields, YOTS operates weekly BBQ-and-Basketball activities on the basketball courts of the local high school, providing a safe place in the evening for local young people and their families, and, for some, the most substantial meal they have all week.

The program, delivered by Youth Workers has the following benefits, engaging with young people, learning about their needs and supporting them in developing educational or employment plans. YOTS also recruits Trainee Youth Workers to participate and take ownership of the programs.

• Long-term intervention strategy
• Designed to increase school attendance and employment
• Aims to decrease local youth crime
• Incorporates positive recreational activities, e.g. basketball, barbeques, dance etc.
• Builds trust with at-risk and disadvantaged young people through regular contact.

Eden College

Eden College is an alternative learning program that focuses on providing flexible education to students who are in danger of dropping out of mainstream education. The curriculum is flexible and concentrates on identifying students’ individual needs and talents.

Trainee Youth Worker Program

Trainee youth workers come from the Macquarie Fields area. The program allows participants to study at TAFE and work within YOTS whilst contribute within their own communities.

Developing clear objectives

A clear set of goals ensures that everyone involved in a project understands the aims and objectives of the development and helps explain the purpose to external stakeholders. A project’s success will be determined by how closely set goals are met.

The goals of the Macquarie Fields Youth Centre were:

a) To build a multi-purpose Youth Centre in the suburb of Macquarie Fields

b) To establish a safe space for young people and families in their own suburb.

c) To contribute to long-term solutions and interventions for a complex range of issues.

d) To use a model that will build self-esteem and capacity, rather than creating dependence.

e) To train adult members of the community who volunteer to help with the program, in order to build bonds between adults and young people, and facilitate role modelling.

f) To develop programs that will gradually impact on levels of school exclusion, youth crime and employment by providing diversionary activities, alternative education and aspiration.

g) To provide clients with strategies to feel safer in their own homes and community.

h) To equip young people with skills to increase their employment capacity.

i) To increase self-esteem and respect for others.

j) To contribute to breaking inter-generational cycles of violence and disadvantage.

Engaging with the community

The YOTS programs in Macquarie Fields were developed in response to community request and took into account the specific needs of the area.

YOTS consults regularly with local residents, through:

• Informal liaison (staff and volunteers talking to community members at Outreach evenings)
• Formal liaison (meetings with local agencies such as the police, council, other local charities and relevant government departments).

This consultation allows YOTS to develop programs and services in line with the changing needs of the community.

For the development of the Youth Centre, YOTS identified a range of stakeholders. These were:

a) Resident young people of Macquarie Fields, aged 8-25

b) The wider Macquarie Fields residential and business community

c) Organisations servicing the community, either located in the area or through Outreach

d) Police

e) Campbelltown City Council

f) Primary and High Schools

g) NSW Department of Housing

h) Funding bodies, including all levels of Government, philanthropic and individual donors.

YOTS incorporated a range of ways for stakeholders to contribute to the development and operation of the Centre. One of the most important components was the establishment of partnerships with other local organisations to assist in providing the Centre’s services and make sure

that there was no overlap in services.

YOTS also developed a survey for young people in the area to find out nwhat facilities and services they wanted in a youth centre. The answers

were incorporated into the architectural plans. Ongoing feedback is provided by the Trainee Youth Workers, who talk to the young people in the area every day. YOTS uses an informal consultation process – focusing on talking to young people who actually use the Centre, rather

than continual surveys and meetings.

Building awareness

To reach those most in need of the Centre’s services, YOTS developed a marketing plan during the consultation period using a range of formal and informal channels in the community. Posters, flyers, newspaper advertisements and media articles were all used to promote the Centre, showing what was available and encouraging young people to come and see what the Centre had to offer. To maximise effective use of funding, advertising campaigns were used mostly for campaigns where the target group could be effectively identified, targeted and measured to ensure the best possible return-on-investment.

Informal promotional tools were an important part of the campaign. Other groups who work with young people were encouraged to refer them to the Centre and partner organisations were given YOTS materials to give to their clients. YOTS also built networks within the community and news of the Centre spread through word of mouth. Websites such as Facebook were also used to spread the word of the Centre’s services. Social media can be a powerful and low cost tool in engaging young people in a medium they use regularly.

Measuring performance

As with any business activity, it is crucial that YOTS continually measures performance of their programs – to see what works, check whether they are providing the services needed, and to allow them to make improvements. Good feedback also helps keep staff focused and morale high. YOTS has to provide feedback and data to major funding bodies (e.g. government, corporate supporters etc.) to show them how their contributions are being used. To allow this to be completed effectively, YOTS continues to strengthen partnerships with universities and external consultants and uses best practice and continual improvement methods of data collection, analysis and reporting.

Each of the YOTS programs, including the Macquarie Youth Centre, has internal reporting and evaluation processes. Program managers write weekly reports and deliver a monthly report to the Director of Services, to show how the programs are meeting their goals, objectives and budgets.

The Program Manager also meets with other appropriate governmental and charitable organisations and gets feedback from community groups about the success of programs in the area.

The Outreach programs are evaluated on an ongoing basis using a variety of quantitative and qualitative research, including:

a) The number of young people who use the service

b) The number of repeat visits

c) Age, gender, ethnicity, first language spoken at home 

d) Employment, study or training status

e) School attainment

f) The number of volunteers in attendance

g) Compare changes in knowledge and attitudes in relation to a wide range of issues including youth crime and safety, youth health and well-being,

relationships, family

h) Pre and post attendance surveys, including satisfaction surveys, measures of well-being, measures of knowledge and attitudes

i) Community focus groups

j) Feedback from social workers, youth workers and other community service agents and stakeholders.