LOCAL YOUTH AWARDED AT PARLIAMENT HOUSE

A ceremony held at Parliament House Victoria on Tuesday, 2 August awarded young men from Benalla and Wangaratta for completing a two-year life skills, alternate education and mentoring program with leading youth organisation, Typo Station.

The ceremony, hosted by Nationals Member for Benalla, Bill Sykes MP, celebrated the achievements of a group of young men from across Victoria, who two years ago, were considered by both themselves and many in their communities to be headed towards delinquent and potentially tragic futures.

Prior to completing Typo Station’s program, Brad and Andrew both from Wangaratta, and Steven from Benalla, were experiencing significant difficulties at home and school. Their relationships with family were deteriorating, their experiences at school were increasingly of failure and disengagement, and their reputation in their local communities was slipping.

In his address to the boys, Bill Sykes MP, drew on some of his experiences as a veterinarian to highlight people’s amazing strength and resilience to overcome crises in their lives. Most graphic was Dr Sykes’ description of people’s strength in coping with having their sheep and cattle destroyed during the foot and mouth outbreak in the UK in 2001.

Dr Sykes said, “The boys who have completed the Typo Station program have shown their own personal strength and resilience to overcome their challenges and get on with their lives and become valued, contributing members of our communities.”

For Brad, Andrew and Steven, Typo Station offered an opportunity to make a fresh start towards a more positive future.

Their fresh start involved a residential experience completed over five weeks at Typo Station’s remote rural property near Whitfield, also called Typo Station; a number of follow up programs, and ongoing mentoring over two years. Through experiences including a nine day wilderness hike, pioneer skills workshops, community involvement and simple living, Typo Station aims for young people to build the initiative and resilience necessary to stay on track and have a positive future.

Special guest speaker at the awards ceremony, Damian Drum MLC, reflected on his own challenges throughout his AFL playing and coaching careers, and his more recent political career as The Nationals spokesperson for Youth Affairs. He commended the young men graduating from Typo Station’s program for their courage in trying to better themselves and their futures, saying that since its inception in 1993, Typo Station has worked with hundreds of at-risk young men. A total of forty-seven young men were awarded at the graduation ceremony at Parliament House on Tuesday.

Andy Kay, CEO at Typo Station said of these young men, “This is a significant achievement that they should all be extremely proud of. Our program isn’t easy and their decision to take it on to make positive changes in their lives and to stick out the whole two-years is a credit to them.”

The incidence of young men feeling alienated from their families, schools and communities is constantly on the increase, particularly in rural and regional Victoria. Currently 30 percent of all boys in Australia leave school after Year 10, with 80 percent of all school suspensions attributed to boys. Young men also have the highest rate of suicide and commit the majority of crime in Australia.

For more information about Typo Station visit www.typostation.org.au

Media contact: Bill Sykes (03) 5762 2100 or 0427 624 989