NAYSS News - MARCH 2008
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IN THIS EDITION...
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> From the Lead Provider
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> Australian Government Update
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> Multicultural Youth Services (Canberra) – Friends for Racial Harmony School Project
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> CMYI (North West Melbourne) - Drivers Education Program
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> Colony 47 (Hobart) – Strengthening Families in a New Country Forum
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> Action research at Multilink (Logan, QLD) – Homework Program
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> School African Day and Housing Forum Speeches
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From the Lead Provider
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In this edition we hear about activities from a few NAYSS programs around the country, including a Schools Project with MYS in Canberra, Drivers Ed Program with CMYI in north-west Melbourne, Colony 47 involvement with the ‘Strengthening Families in New Country’ forum held in Hobart last November, as well as some action research documented at Multilink in Logan, looking at their Homework Program.
There is also an update from FaHCSIA, outlining changes in ministries, and movement of some Youth Bureau activities, following on from the change in Government resulting from the November 2007 Federal election.
We have also included two fantastic speeches made by two young people newly arrived to Hobart, one at a school African day, the other at a Housing Forum. In fact it is pretty long newsletter, however as there hasn’t been one in a while, thought it wouldn’t hurt to hear a little more than usual about what has been happening at some of the NAYSS programs.
Other news from the Lead Provider and FaHCSIA is that the date and place for the next NAYSS Good Practice Forum has been set and will be held on Thursday 1 and Friday 2 May at the Citigate Sebel, Sydney.
There has also been a change in staff in the Lead Provider Role with Tania Groba taking over from Kerry Barber on the 28th of February. Tania has been working in other areas at CMYI since mid last year, so already has an insight and understanding of the NAYSS initiative and the Lead Provider program. Together with Loren Polzot, the Coordinator for Project Development at CMYI, they will both be very busy getting everything together for the April forum. If you want to make any comment or suggestions for the forum, please contact Tania (tgroba@cmyi.net.au) or Loren (lpolzot@cmyi.net.au).
As always, we are keen to hear more about projects and programs and other work activities and observations the different NAYSS provider programs are involved in. We hope to have the NAYSS ‘on-line’ forum operational soon, another great way to share stories and access peer support. If you have any stories you would like to include in the next or future newsletter, please forward or contact Tania, before she contacts you...
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Australian Government Update
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With the Australian Government changes, some of the Youth Bureau functions and programs have moved to the Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations (DEEWR).
The programs that have stayed within FaHCSIA include:
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- Reconnect and Newly Arrived Youth Support Service (NAYSS) (now part of the Homelessness Branch);
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- National Illicit Drugs Strategy (NIDS) Strengthening Families program (now part of the Family Relationship Services Branch).
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The Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs is the Hon Jenny Macklin MP. The Minister for Housing and the Minister for the Status of Women is the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP.
Youth Programs that have moved to DEEWR include:
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- Transition to Independent Living Allowance (TILA).
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Initiatives have moved to DEEWR include:
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- National Youth Week, and National Youth Affairs Research Scheme;
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The new Minister for Youth is the Hon Kate Ellis MP. To view her National Youth Week 2008 message, visit the National Youth Week website.
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Multicultural Youth Services (Canberra) – Friends for Racial Harmony School Project
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MYS received funding through a DIAC ‘Living in Harmony’ grant in 2007 to run a fantastic youth led program in two Schools and two Youth Centres in Canberra.
The aim of project FRSH (‘Friends for Racial and Social Harmony’) include:
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- Promote racial and social harmony in schools and youth centres around the ACT;
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- Encourage young people to value, accept and respect people from all racial, cultural and social backgrounds;
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- Conduct youth led activities that bring people from different racial, cultural and social backgrounds together.
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FRSH was based on a model of creating youth ‘Harmony Committees’ in each of the four locations. The committees met regularly to design and run (with the support of the FRSH project officer) activities in their school or youth centre, encouraging young people from different cultural backgrounds to learn more about each other and befriend each other.
The FRSH project officer made the following observations at the conclusion of the program:
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What worked best?
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- Forming a harmony committee in a school environment;
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- Allowing young people to plan all of the activities conducted themselves – they know what other young people like, when it is best to do activities etc;
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- Using activities common to young people, such as hip hop, a way of getting people from a diverse range of backgrounds interacting, as well as highlighting that young people from different cultural backgrounds enjoy similar/same activities;
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- Using rewards to encourage young people to participate in activities and events.
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What worked less well:
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- Working with organizations where staff members had not received adequate cultural awareness training;
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- Working with staff members who were culturally insensitive and/or had racist attitudes/beliefs. This hindered the effectiveness of the project, lacking reinforced messages across the school environment;
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- Large one-off events, young people from different backgrounds didn’t really have a chance to learn about or interact with other groups, not allowing for or promoting continuity in messages being relayed.
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Recommendations for similar programs:
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- Peer education programs that are conducted by young people for young people;
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- Cultural awareness training for all teachers and youth workers, helping to address racist attitudes and reinforce messages across the school;
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- Regular recreational activities that can be used as a means to get people from a diverse range of backgrounds interacting.
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For more information contact Catriona Heath at MYS - catriona.heath@qmlc.org.au.
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CMYI (North West Melbourne) - Drivers Education Program
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Recently, in collaboration with the Migrant Resource Centre North West (MRCNW), the Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues (CMYI) launched a Driver Education Program in Brimbank, a Local Government Area in north west Melbourne. The need for a Driver Education Program (DEP) was identified by Youth Workers employed through specialist/multicultural agencies, mainstream stakeholders as well as newly arrived young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds in the area.
The DEP was run from the Visy Cares Hub in Sunshine on a weekly basis. The program operated for a two month period, starting in mid October and finishing in December, 2007. Together, CMYI and MRCNW were able to attract 25 young people aged between 16 – 17 years, half of the group female, half of the group male (more or less). It was decided that, ideally, a comprehensive program should include not only on-line learner permit practice test training, but also include training and presentations conducted by select stakeholders on specific driving related themes. Recorded below is a brief outline of the actual weekly format of the schedule.
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Week One, 9 October 2007
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The session was on “How to get Learners and Probationary License” in Victoria. VicRoads was invited to present on the subject.
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Week Two, 16 October
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On the second week “Road Signs” was the theme of the day. The two collaborating workers decided to spend the entire duration of the session introducing the meaning of various Road Signs, as they apply to traffic in Australia. Familiarity with road signs was viewed as integral to driving.
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Week Three, 23 October
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This week’s session focused on the motor vehicle itself, entitled “Introduction to the Car: what is what and where”, describing what a car is, how it works, and the various components…
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Week Four, 30 October
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The day’s class was on “TAC Drive Smart Driving” simulation. The idea behind the activity was to help the young people gain a “feel” of what actual driving is like through a process that simulates it.
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Week Five, 6 November
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Melbourne Cup Day. No group was convened as the date marks a Public Holiday in Melbourne.
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Week Six, 13 November
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The session was presented by a member of the Victorian Police force. It was about “Laws and Fines” to do with driving a motor vehicle
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Week Seven, 20 November
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Session was on “Car Maintenance”. Hand Brake Turn which is a not-for-profit automobile mechanic garage/shop offered to present on the week’s topic. Hand Brake Turn supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds by equipping them with skills essential to working in the auto industry.
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Week Eight, 27 November
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The whole session involved on-line “Practice Learner Test”. It was relayed to the young people that a score of 80% or more repeated through five separate tests could be an indicator that the candidate achieving that score were “ready for their Learners”
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Week Nine, 4 December
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Guest speakers from RACV-Free-2Go program came out to talk to young people on the topic of Car Insurance.
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Week Ten, 11 December
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As in Week Eight, this week’s session involved on-line “Practice Learner Test”. In groups of two, the young people spend time performing learner tests.
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Week Eleven, 14 December
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It was the last and recapping session. There were presenters from Brimbank City Council (two), Victoria Police and the Metropolitan Fire Brigades. Besides presentations, there were workshops which were used as a forum for the young people to discuss any issues that they considered of relevance to the Driver Education Program.
To conclude, judging from the feedback conveners received from the young people taking part in the DEP, as well as from stakeholders that came along at various points during the Program, we have learned that a Driver Education Program was indeed a community development activity worthwhile implementing. We recommend, based on our experiences, that services whose client group reflects significant numbers of newly arrived young people (and their families) assess the need for driver education programs.
For more information contact Aberahime Gime at CMYI, agime@cmyi.net.au
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Colony 47 (Hobart) – Strengthening Families in a New Country Forum
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In partnership with Relationships Australia (RA), Colony 47 ran a one day forum at the end of November 2007, Strengthening Families in a New Country. The Forum came out of a couple of years of work looking at how we can get information to new arrivals, information that they have identified about relationships in Australia, looking at parenting, family and spousal relationships.
The forum was run by a Steering Committee of Colony and RA workers and reps from African Australian communities. Speakers included Indigenous Rights Campaigners working with Amnesty International Australia, Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, the Tasmanian Commissioner for Children, Tasmanian Minister for Community Development and other service providers in this area. There were also opportunities for the participants to talk in small groups and identify issues and proposed strategies to manage them. 200 people, mostly African Australians and some service providers, attended the day.
The highlight for me (and most participants, I was told!), was the presentation NAYSS co-ordinated with African Australian students from Elizabeth College. This project “UNITY UNITED” was a movement/dance piece where the young people shared their experiences, insights and hopes for the future. We hired a young African Australian from the Steering Committee to work with NAYSS to run the project, on a casual basis.
Now we will publish the findings and deliberations from the day along with the documentary film we are producing of the making of “UNITY UNITED” and the settlement insights of young African Australians.
While I admit to a certain lack of perspective, I thought the day was awesome. It was celebratory and informative and stimulating. One of the long time sector service providers there said it was the best African event in Australia he has participated in.
I thought the day was summed up by a woman who came up with tears in her eyes, hugged and said “Now I can move forward”! BEWDIFUL!
For more information contact Al Hines at Colony 47 - alh@colcony47.com.au.
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Action research at Multilink (Logan, QLD) – Homework Program
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Action Research is a vital component in the Homework Program, working at an early intervention and prevention level. The homework program aims at offering assistance with homework, exam preparation and revision for young people who need language support, individual tutoring, mentoring, and peer support, or are at risk of educational difficulties. In offering this assistance, the program aims to provide the relevant skills and guidance that the students need and find most helpful. It also aims to facilitate their learning and foster continued education, goal development, and future direction.
As such, action research ensures that the homework program is one that is responsive and relevant to the needs of the target group, being young migrants and refugees, rather than just being a program run for a perceived need in the community. In addition, action research contributes to the improvement of this social program and the improvement of those who the program aims to assist. It also ensures that the outcomes are directly related to the program, ensuring an effective service that is based on observation, research, and, naturally, continued improvement. However, for the homework program, this was only done at the program level and not at the organizational level.
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Download the full report from the Action Research section
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For more information contact Michelle Hoomans at Multilink - michelle@multilink.org.au.
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School African Day and Housing Forum Speeches
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Following are two fantastic speeches written and presented by two young people newly arrived in Hobart. Both were keen to share their stories outside the particular days they spoke, and asked if there was an opportunity to further promote their speeches. For more information please contact Al Hines (alh@colony47.com.au) or Mike Drell (miked@colony47.com.au) at Colony 47, or call (03) 6214 1472.
The first speech was prepared by Donne for a local forum entitled ‘Housing is Essential’. The audience consisted of local service providers, members of various migrant communities as well as politicians from Labor and Green parties. There were also representatives from DIAC.
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Hello everyone, my name is Dieudonne and I am a special Burundian. I came to Tasmania last year in June. I am here to talk about my situation with housing. I would like to share my own story searching for accommodation.
In May 2007, I decided to leave my parents’ home to become more independent. But to find somewhere to stay was hard and it still is hard for me. I can’t go back to my mum’s house and I can’t find my own house. I thought I could find a home quickly, but it is too hard. For example: accommodation is too expensive and if you try to go to Housing Tasmania they give you a long time to get cheap houses. Think about if it was you. In Tasmania there are 3000 people waiting for houses and then I am 3001! It’s very difficult. I think the day that all 3000 people get a house will be the day Jesus will come back!
I went to Colony 47 for some assistance and also to Anglicare. We were lucky to find a vacancy at Youthcare, but it was no good because other boys there behaved badly and swore at me. I felt lucky, but also uncomfortable to be in that place. The independence I would like to find was not there. I had to stay there almost 2 months and it was hard to study. Then I was very lucky because my teacher found a place for me to live at Springvale. Springvale is a good place to stay, but I still have problems. I am still living there, but I can’t stay at Christmas and I have no home for Christmas.
Let me ask you something…What can you do if this is your own problem? Do you think you can go stay in the streets? And I know you like to enjoy Christmas. It is a time to be at home with people you care about. I am looking for where I can move to enjoy Christmas in my own home. You have power…If you don’t like it than how can you do nothing? Even though I have a place to sleep, being homeless makes me feel like an idiot or something and like I am nothing in Australia! You have to change something to make me feel better in the Tasmanian community!
Thank you for taking time to hear my story. I would like government to do something big to change the housing because there is no one who likes to stay in the streets.
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The second speech was prepared by Thon Majok Yuol, presented at a school African day in response to comments made by Kevin Andrews last year. Thon is a 19 year old young man originally from Sudan, and a student at a secondary college in Hobart.
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Good afternoon and welcome to the GYC African day. Africa is considered by most paleoanthropologists to be the oldest inhabited territory on earth, with the human species originating from the continent perhaps as early as 7 million years ago. The continent of Africa is well blessed with a diversity of legend, cultures, languages, religions, sports music and dance; it is not rare to find individuals who fluently speak not only several African languages, but one or two European ones as well.
In the late 19th century, Africa was colonised by many European countries, this colonisation of African countries lead to myriad different cultural influences and migration of Africans to other parts of the world began. Furthermore, migration from Africa continued because of civil wars, insecurity, drought and famine encouraging people to leave their home land to seek refugee status in neighbouring countries. In recent years many African like myself, have made a new home in Australia.
However, the recent comments by the (former) Immigration Minister Mr. Kevin Andrews about African refugees not integrating in Australian culture has upset many African Australians. These comments are completely wrong. Integration is something that has always been a difficult task for anyone no matter who they are or where they come from, or whether they are refugees, migrants, or tourists. Remember, being a refugee means you do not have a choice of destination, but, that you are going to a safe country where you can fine a sense of belonging and become a part of a multicultural community and build a life that does not exist in your own country. Refugees are well recognised by the United Nation as people in great need of support.
To support his statement that African refugees are not integrating into the Australia way of life, Mr. Andrews said that African refugees are forming gangs, fighting in night clubs, and drinking in public parks. However, these activities are happening among young people all over the world and as you know it is a common problem among Australian youths as well. In fact I would say if these problems are happening among African refugee, they learn it for young Australians. Why single African youth out when issues affect youths in the wider community regardless of background.
By singling out African refugees as being a problem to Australia, the minister for immigration can be seen as promoting racist views and going against Australia’s values of equality, tolerance, mateship and a fair go for all which his government insists on all new Australians to accept and practice.
Perhaps Mr Andrews should himself sit the citizenship test because it appears he does not fully understand or appreciate the true meaning of equality, tolerance, mateship and a fair go for all. And thank you.
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