Community

BackTrack Youth Works

BackTrack’s mission is to keep kids alive, out of jail and chasing their hopes and dreams. Working with young people having a tough time and falling through the cracks of a system that doesn’t meet their needs, BackTrack’s unique, tried and tested methodology, the BackTrack Way, is all about doing whatever it takes for as long as it takes to support young people to get back on track, reconnect with education and training, participate fully in their community and lead happy and productive lives. BackTrack’s social enterprise arm, BackTrack Works, provides those young people who are willing and able to transition into employment with a supportive, patient work environment, preparing them for mainstream employment. BackTrack was founded in Armidale, but works with a network of like-minded and values-aligned organisations embedding the BackTrack Way to support as many young people having a tough time as possible and further the case for systemic change leading to better outcomes for young people across Australia.

batyr

batyr is a youth-led preventative mental health organisation whose mission is to destigmatise mental ill-health and empower young people to reach out for support when they need it. Young people with lived experience are trained to speak about their journeys with mental ill health in a safe way with school-aged students, engaging them to talk about mental health and wellbeing and empowering them with the knowledge and skills to support themselves and each other. batyr also partners with universities to address student mental health and wellbeing. With funding from the Federal Government, batyr has also developed the ‘OurHerd’ app, so that young people can access stories that resonate and resources anywhere, any time. The app provides valuable insights into the kinds of stories and resources young people seek out and are most drawn to.

Campbell Page (Young Mothers Pathway Program)

Campbell Page is a large not-for-profit with a focus on supporting people to gain and maintain employment. Established in 1985, Campbell Page has decades of experience and expertise, running over 80 offices across Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia. Most of Campbell Page’s employment programs are government funded; however, Campbell Page has more recently started using its significant knowledge of the sector and understanding of the gaps to pilot programs aiming to advance outcomes for the most disadvantaged and difficult to employ cohorts. This is how the Young Mothers Pathway Program started, supporting single mothers under 30 to continue their education and find suitable, long-term employment. It is based on the well-researched wraparound support model and is being piloted in Deception Bay, with plans to expand the successes to date to other locations.

Dismantle

Dismantle aims to empower at-risk young people through skills-based learning, supportive mentoring and employment pathways. Based in Perth, Dismantle provides basic but fundamental support and is a patient-first employer. BikeRescue, Dismantle’s flagship 10-week outreach and engagement program, uses youth workers disguised as bike mechanics to strip and rebuild bikes while building rapport, self-esteem and emotional regulation to help young people better cope with their challenges. Dismantle also provides wrap-around support and job readiness through in-house case management, taking the time to understand each young person’s challenges and aspirations. Dismantle runs two social enterprises providing entry-level employment, BikeDr which builds on BikeRescue and is a trusted and convenient cycle servicing provider in Perth’s CBD, and ReNew which provides commercial landscaping and property maintenance.

The Foundation for Young Australians

For more than 40 years, the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) has backed young people and youth-led initiatives to create change. Over time, FYA has made $50m+ in grants to youth projects, released landmark research, supported thousands of young change-makers, and delivered flagship educational programs. FYA is now implementing a new strategy of backing young people across the country to beat injustice and create long-lasting change for all. Young people are facing a series of overwhelming, complex crises. They have the vision and energy to drive historic social change but are excluded from decision-making. FYA backs them with the training, resources, and connections they need, so they have the power to create lasting change in the face of the challenges that matter most to them.

Go Gentle Australia

Go Gentle was established as a national charity by broadcaster Andrew Denton in 2016 to achieve end-of-life choice for all Australians. Through advocacy, evidence and storytelling, Go Gentle played a critical role in passing and implementing voluntary assisted dying (VAD) laws in all six states and the ACT, allowing terminally ill adults who are suffering intolerably to request help to end their suffering.

With the Northern Territory now the only jurisdiction yet to pass a VAD law, Go Gentle is working to ensure Territorians are not left behind and have the same end-of-life rights as other Australians.

Go Gentle also prioritises the defence and improvement of existing laws. The charity is working closely with governments and community organisations around the country to ensure health systems deliver equitable, high-quality VAD care that is well supported, free from stigma, and integrated into standard end-of-life care.

Grattan Institute

Grattan Institute provides policy research and analysis to support informed public debate and policy making in Australia. With experts in key policy fields including economics, education, health, transport, migration, energy and climate; Grattan utilises access to large amounts of data and statistics to demystify policy reform and take the rhetoric out of political debates. Grattan Institute is a trusted and critical ally of the public service, and provides training to public servants around policy research and analysis, as well as supporting them with researched and documented policy recommendations through its numerous, well-regarded and frequently quoted reports, and its famous ‘Orange Book’, which collates its key recommendations across its areas of expertise for Ministerial incumbents at elections.

National Centre for Childhood Grief (NCCG)

The National Centre for Childhood Grief (NCCG) supports young people and their families through the bereavement process. When a child loses a loved one, grief can present in ways and behaviours that can be confusing and challenging, and if left unchecked, can develop into long-term mental health issues and challenges completing school or moving into adulthood. That’s why accessing the unique expertise of NCCG is so critical. NCCG operates out of ‘A Friend’s Place’ in Sydney. This warm, inviting, home environment is peppered with cleverly disguised counselling rooms full of toys and activities. Alongside in-person (in Sydney) counselling, NCCG provides online counselling which is great resources and training to stakeholders including school counsellors and mental health providers dealing with childhood grief and its impacts.

The Ethics Centre (Engaging with Young Australians)

The Ethics Centre (TEC) aims to provide individuals, organisations and public institutions with the tools to make better decisions at every level, leading to a more harmonious and prosperous society for all. Tackling the issues of power, leadership, accountability, public debate about the issues dividing society, and good decision-making, TEC looks to create a safe container to discuss and critically think through what matters most to us, individually and as a nation. Seeing an opportunity to bring these critical thinking skills to Australia’s younger generations, TEC has developed its ‘Engaging with young Australians’ program, with the aim of elevating the influence of young people on the ethical character of Australian society, and raising awareness and engagement of this demographic with TEC for mutual benefit. This program is driven by young people for young people, and ensuring the youth voice is embedded in all of TEC’s programs.