Disengagement from school is a problem that needs a holistic solution, as it leads to many other critical youth issues, such as homelessness, substance use and contact with the justice system.
Founder and Director Bernie Shakeshaft established BackTrack Youth Works in Armidale, NSW, in 2006 for this very reason. He saw a gaping hole in the mainstream system and found no way to refer vulnerable kids to someone who could take them on, so he and the BackTrack team started doing it as volunteers at their local council.
“For a couple of years, we just started trying to stabilise these kids. Our mantra has always been the same: To keep kids alive, out of jail, and chasing their dreams and hopes. At that stage, we were just trying to keep those kids alive, so we would catch up with them on weekends, do a bit on weekdays, and then, as things progressively got better, we found an agency to work under. And we just kept going. Now, we’ve got over 80 people on the payroll and a network that helps multiple other communities get started,” he told Third Sector in an exclusive interview.
At the THRIVE National Youth Summit, Mr Shakeshaft will be delivering a keynote on reimagining a long-term, holistic approach to youth crisis and creating hope for the future. Ahead of the summit, he gave us a glimpse into his session.
How can we break down silos to listen and engage with young people’s voices and needs?
This is not about changing silos; this is about listening to and watching young people and helping them out, no matter what role or job you’re in. At BackTrack, we take this on like a family. We do the same thing you would do with your family, whatever it takes for as long as it takes.
If there was a problem with the siloed approach, it is around the way things are cluttered. The education department just gets funding for the education of the kids living under the bridge or staying in domestic violence homes. Until we start running holistic programs so that they can get in court, feed them if they need to, work with the family, take them out of drug and alcohol issues, support their education and look for employment, the system won’t change.
If it just comes down to listening to kids, we can all do that now in our daily lives. We should neutralise or take out of our relationships with young people the thought of just finishing a training package or whatever is going on. When it becomes so isolated that we’re just concentrating on one task, we’re not looking at the big picture, and there are no services to refer to. If they don’t work well together, then it won’t work. We need to look at holistic wraparound models.
How can we embed the deep and lasting impact when the community comes together?
When you take that from your own nuclear family and then get that into the school and all different groups, whether it’s local council, sporting times or the shopping centre, everybody’s got to be on the same page that this is what we want from them. Everybody has a small role, and when everybody plays that role over a long period, it makes a difference.
If I look at the young people who first went through our program when they were 14 or 15, some of them still work for us, and they’re in their late 20s with their own families now. They’re always saying they’re breaking that cycle now because their kids are fit and healthy, going well and going to school.
If I look at the number of people who help our young people through their journey, whether that’s from the cops, grandparents, cooks, volunteers coming from the lines or rotary clubs, or employers who are prepared to take these kids on knowing that they might not be ready and might not work forever, it’s simple: If you just take it back to the community and the community owns it, that’s what embeds impact.
What strategies can we develop to create long-term systemic change?
You need to look at things that are working and not working, and continue funding what’s working. Funding structure is important.
Also, as Paul Kelly’s song ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’ says, when we concentrate on little things and get them right, that’s what works. If everyone is doing their job, learning and doing a little bit more above and beyond, and then we concentrate on models dealing with things that work, that’s how we get the long-term changes.
Do you have anything you want to add or highlight?
Look at the greatest people in the world over the centuries. One thing they left people with was hope. There are solutions, and lots of people are doing lots of good things, but they’re too fractured. We should bring all those together and then get a way forward. And if we leave young people with hope and have real relationships with them as opposed to treating them as clients, then we will make a difference together. It is possible, and lots of good examples of that have already happened.
Don’t miss the chance to learn how to make a real difference in the lives of young people. Register for THRIVE 2025 here.
Geraldine is currently the Content Producer for Third Sector, an Akolade channel. Throughout her career, she has written for various industries and international audiences. Her love for writing extends beyond the corporate world, as she also works as a volunteer writer at her local church. Aside from writing, she is also fond of joining fun runs and watching musicals.
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