Berry Street Web Docs Annual Report 2010 | Page 21

Reaching out to

Young People

Adolescence is a challenging time for all of us, but
especially so if your childhood was one of violence,
abuse or neglect.
Experimentation and testing the boundaries are
normal adolescent behaviour, but the traumatic
experiences of the young people with whom
we work means they often put themselves in
situations of great risk.
Earning the trust of these young people is the
first step in being able to help them start to deal
with their pain, anger and grief. Despite the many
challenges, our staff are determined to ‘hang in
there’ with these young people for as long as
they need us.
Some of our work included:• Providing care and case management to 252
of the most ‘at risk’ young people in Victoria.

• Providing a range of different activities to
engage 208 young people through outreach,
arts projects, a health and wellbeing program
and whatever else is needed to keep them
connected.
• Supporting 68 young people to make a
successful transition from residential or
foster care.
• Supporting 83 young people living in shared
accommodation or with lead tenants.
• Helping 40 young people to build confidence
and connections to school through our
Wilderness program in Gippsland.
• Enabling 24 young people to get sufficient
driving experience to get a driver’s licence.
• Recruiting 65 mentors to provide positive
role models for 98 young people in Gippsland.

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