Gosnells PCYC Program Announced as Child Safety Awards Finalists
Announcement posted by WA Police & Community Youth Centres 26 Jun 2015
Constable Care Child Safety Foundation leads the way in the vital child safety sector in Western Australia and each award has been specifically designed to celebrate the endeavours and achievements of individuals, communities, corporate organisations, emergency service professionals, government agencies and education programs, which protect children and young people from harm, and promote a safer Western Australia for children and young people.
Full Throttle is as an early intervention, crime prevention and mentoring program targeted at youth aged 12 to 18 years, teaching participants to use small hand and power tools to restore damaged, dumped and donated bikes and small motors. Once the bikes are considered road worthy they are donated to charitable organisations to give to families in need, or other social agencies to assist the community through related programs.
Participants are able to select a bike to repair and keep for themselves, however before taking their own bike they must complete the giveaway bike. The ethos behind this is to teach the young people the value and importance of volunteering and giving back to the community.
The program is supported by WA Police, who have donated dozens of bikes (most of which would otherwise be disposed of in land fill), as well as the 2nd Chance Op Shop, who donated $2000 to aid in the purchase of equipment for repairs and food for the participants.
The program was established in November 2014 to address the growing incidence of antisocial, risk-taking and dangerous behaviour of some youth in the Jull Street Mall, Armadale, and runs on Thursday evenings, from 4.30-6.30pm. Due to the success of Full Throttle there has been a reduction in the incident of youth congregating within the Jull Street Mall as well as a reduction in criminal damage and restored public confidence within the area. In addition, previously disengaged young people have now themselves become mentors in the program, whilst building a more positive relationship and respect with WA police and the wider community.
Constable Care Child Safety Foundation CEO David Gribble said the Awards play an important role in highlighting the ongoing need for child safety initiatives across the State.
“Congratulations to all those involved with the Full throttle project. It has proved to be a really productive project and successful on so many levels, from the youngsters who attend to the wider community. This year we were blown away with the quality of the entries. The commitment by some individuals and organisations to help children and young people is astounding and very admirable. We hope these Awards will highlight such great work and inspire others to help make WA a safe place for our children, youth and communities”, explained David.
The difficult job of choosing the overall winners will be conducted by independent judging panels, who consist of leading child welfare professionals, corporate and educational stakeholders and others with a keen interest in children’s wellbeing.
Winners will be announced at the prestigious independent Awards ceremony on 1 August, held at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. It is from the seven winning award entries the recipient of the esteemed Child Safety Award of the Year 2015 is determined.