Human Rights Report

Following on from my Report on work with Indigenous teenagers in the Redfern and Waterloo areas in the April issue of News&Notes, the UNAA's Human Rights portfolio has gone one step further.

An initiative Kids Off the Streets Program, which has been adopted by the NSW Government's South Sydney Youth Services Committee, aims to keep them off the streets and engaged in career focused and social development activities.

The program has been welcomed by the Redfern/Waterloo social workers, and includes recently introduced classes for teenagers from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous backgrounds, who are from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Topics covered in the program include:

• Learning how to set goals and meet deadlines;
• The importance of motivation, self-worth and confidence;
• Interacting and working with people from non-Indigenous backgrounds;
• Introduction to public speaking and writing; and
• Learning about broader society and culture.

The program has now made its way into the area's local Police Citizen's Youth Club (PCYC), where plans are currently underway for it to take affect by the end of June - well before local children and teenagers return to school after holidays.