Project Outcomes

Organisation: Youth Activating Youth

Project: Drop the Knife Save A Life

Grant funding: $297,000

About the project

This project, running from June 2021 to August 2023, aimed to address the issue of knife crime through prevention and early intervention. Co-designed with young people and the community, the project developed an educational campaign to inform youth about the serious consequences of carrying a knife and the impact on themselves, their families, and the wider community.

Key Objectives

• Increase awareness of knife crime and its consequences.
• Support schools and community organisations (e.g., youth and health services) in educating young people on knife crime.
• Intervene in pathways that may lead to violent offending.
• Reduce knife carrying and incidents of knife crime among young people.

Project Outcomes

• Community Conversations: Youth Activating Youth (YAY) hosted five community conversation sessions in 2022 across several high-risk local government areas identified through crime data. These sessions connected with young people, families, and multicultural networks, fostering open dialogue on the impact of knife crime and themes such as youth identity, mental health, and community safety.
• Youth Network: A Youth Network of six young leaders from diverse backgrounds facilitated discussions on knife crime. These trained leaders drew on their lived experiences to gather community feedback on issues such as identity and safety, offering insights into the social and economic factors affecting youth choices.
• Community Conversations Toolkit: YAY developed a comprehensive toolkit to help local groups lead their own discussions on knife crime. The toolkit includes a facilitator’s guide, presentation slides, social media content, and posters, providing resources for sustained community engagement.
• Proposed Solutions: Insights from the project led to several recommendations, including establishing safer community spaces, setting up knife drop-off points, improving pathways for reporting crime, and increasing access to mental health resources. Expanding educational programs and culturally sensitive engagement were also identified as key areas for future initiatives.
• Impact and Key Learnings: The project highlighted the effectiveness of community-driven approaches in building trust and encouraging open dialogue on knife crime. While primarily preventative, the project focused on building awareness and empowering local groups with resources to address underlying risk factors. The Youth Network model demonstrated the value of youth leadership, proving essential to the project’s success and underscoring the importance of supporting young leaders in similar initiatives.

Through ongoing collaboration and resource development, "Drop the Knife, Save a Life" has provided valuable tools and insights for creating safer communities and addressing the factors associated with knife crime over the long term.

Organisation: North Richmond Community Health

Project: New Directions (Deferred Prosecutions Pilot)

Grant Funding: $292,120

About the project

The New Directions project, running from July 2021 to June 2023, aimed to deliver a pre-charge diversion program in the Yarra LGA. Its focus was to divert eligible adults facing criminal charges and provide meaningful support to address factors contributing to their offending. Victoria Police referred eligible individuals to a ‘Navigator’ (employed by North Richmond Community Health), who offered case management and connections to necessary services.

Key Objectives

• Address underlying causes of offending and prevent crime through early intervention.
• Connect individuals to services and treatment to address factors contributing to criminal behaviour.
• Reduce reoffending, thereby improving community safety.
• Provide an alternative option to criminal sanctions for low- to medium-level offences.
• Divert offences from the court system.

Project Outcomes

• Although there was a relatively modest uptake in successful referrals, those who did engage reported positive outcomes, including reduced drug use, improved health, and better access to support services.  
• The project contributed to testing a new diversion approach in Australia, providing valuable insights for future programs.
• Participants experienced significant life improvements, such as securing employment, reconnecting with family and engaging with creative activities.
• Collaboration between North Richmond Community Health, the Neighbourhood Justice Centre, and Victoria Police strengthened the project and laid the groundwork for future partnerships in similar diversionary initiatives.
• An in-depth evaluation completed by the University of Melbourne highlighted key lessons learned from the project delivery, including the importance of:
  • Ensuring strong program awareness in operational settings to support the referral process, with co-location of the Navigator within police stations being especially beneficial.
  • Revisiting eligibility criteria to broaden the participant pool and improve program accessibility.

Project: SALDHIG Diverse Communities project (Towards a Safe, Strong and Resilient Somali Community in Banyule)

Grant funding: $299,600

About the project

The project ran between July 2021 and October 2023 and sought to disrupt the cycle of offending youth behaviour associated with culture and disadvantage by addressing the underlying drivers.

The project aimed to better support the Somali-Australian community through a suite of activities including parenting support, life skill development activities for young people, employment related support, and cultural competence development activities for mainstream local services.

Applying evidenced-informed, strengths-based and community-led circuit breakers is theorised to lead to empowerment, engagement and an uplift in community safety.

Key Objectives

• Address the prevailing issue of Somali youth engagement with the Justice system, social cohesion and parental capacity and confidence through a multifaceted approach.
• Deliver a series of culturally appropriate workshops and short courses for Somali-Australian parents and carers addressing identified emerging community needs including culturally appropriate sessions on drug and alcohol support, mental health knowledge, positive parenting strategies and more.
• Provide short-term focused support to families experiencing challenges with a focus on information, referral and support.
• Uplift the capacity of young people and their families to bridge the cultural divide between home and community life.
• Support Somali parents and carers to understand youth development and behaviour in the context of living locally; identify when patterns of behaviour fall outside the norm; adopt parenting responses that amplify support for the young person; and promote help seeking behaviours in the context of Australian life.
• Address the escalation of Somali-Australian inter-community violence (across regions).

Project Outcomes

The project, which was led by Somali-Australian professionals, reportedly made a substantial and profound difference within the Banyule community. The project has used first-hand experience, expertise, and abilities to connect local government, services, and the community. Key project outcomes that were identified include:

• 35 activities, programs, and events were delivered through the project, estimated to have reach more than 4,000 community members.
• Cultural competency workshops were delivered to 493 people from 36+ organisations/teams working in Banyule.
• 43 young people received case management support, with key individual protective and risk factors identified, and ongoing support and referrals provided in working towards achieving self-identified goals.
• Numerous education programs targeted at young people and families were delivered, such as an Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) workshop program.
• Events targeted respectively at young women and young men, addressing various issues related to health and wellbeing were delivered.
• A variety of events such as community BBQ’s and activities were delivered focusing on connecting families and young people with each other, local service providers and culture.
• A Young Men’s Employment Forum was held, connecting young men with Somali-Australian males working in professional roles.
• Following an evaluation, 100% of participants reported a greater sense of community connection and safety, 96% of participants indicated an increased knowledge of local supports and services and 92% or participants reported a greater sense of belonging within their broader community.
   

Organisation: Law and Advocacy Centre for Women Ltd

Project: Community SupPORT Pathway for Women

Grant funding: $299,488

About the project

The project ran between July 2021 and October 2023 and sought to address drivers of women’s contact with the justice system by providing at-risk women with the opportunity to engage in sporting clubs and activities at a community level.

Key Objectives

• Test new approaches to addressing crime and community safety issues that are evidence based and reflect promising practice (largely through engagement with sport as a crime prevention strategy).
• Actively build capability within the community to understand and address crime and community safety issues (such as training and creating opportunities for footy club members to meet and connect with women who have encountered the justice system).
• Contribute to the evidence base of effective crime prevention practice (by developing a project evaluation to measure the impact of engagement with sporting community clubs on woman involved in the justice system).

Project Outcomes

• A total of 47 young people directly received services or support from the project.
• There were 21 participants who had improved protective factors or reduced risk factors throughout the project, measured through surveys and interviews.
• Between 97 and 100 locals attended community group events:
  • Preston Bullants: 35 people (25 players, 10 committee/support staff).
  • Mt Alexander Falcons: 20 people (10 players, 10 committee/support staff).
  • Tarrengower Prison program: (10 players, 10 committee/support staff).
  • Williamstown, Diamond Creek, and Melbourne University football clubs: 6 – 10 members of each club.
• There were 11 partner organisations involved in the event, with 9 new partnerships developed.
• The project received 77 total referrals, with 47 making general enquiries about the program, 27 completing an application form and 7 introduced to clubs.
• Women’s experience and participation in the program was highlighted as positive and enjoyable, due to the additional in-reach programs and ‘Come and try’ events held.
• Feedback from participants suggests that engagement with the program provided a range of positive benefits. This included enhancing social connection, physical and emotional well-being and skill development - factors which have the potential to protect against future criminal justice involvement.
   

Organisation: Paramount Chief Kuol Adol Foundation        

Project: Starbase Mentoring Program

Grant funding: $300,000

About the project

The project ran between July 2021 and August 2023 and delivered a culturally specific mentoring program for young South Sudanese Australians, aged 13 to 15, living in Melbourne's West, who have older siblings engaged in the youth justice system and who were at risk of disengagement.

Key Objectives

• Strengthen aspirations and opportunities for young South Sudanese Australians in Melbourne's west who have an older sibling engaged in the youth justice system and are at risk of disengagement.
• Support young people at risk; to increase connection to community and culture, develop positive mentors and role models, foster help-seeking behaviour and encourage goal setting and positive aspirations.
• Help young people develop the foundations required for a healthy transition to young adulthood.
• Increase family connection to community by providing targeted community-designed and delivered support to younger siblings, and informal community-led support to mothers and families.

Project Outcomes

• A total of 48 young people aged 12-15 from South Sudanese backgrounds participated across three iterations of a 'Starbase Mentor Program'.
• A total of 43 participants completed the program, which represented a completion rate of nearly 90%.
• Each iteration of the 'Starbase Mentor Program' incorporated a camp involving young people and mentors; adapted mentoring support from a 'near peer'; extra school holiday activities for graduates, and warm referrals to other services and active support to join other ongoing youth-focused activities/programs. 
• 24 African Australian mentors were recruited to support the young people.
• Implementation of a 16 week in-house mothers' support program that engaged 26 mothers and nine women in self-care and health and wellbeing activities to provide connection and respite opportunities.
• Development of resources to support program delivery, including handbooks for both mentors and young people.
   

Organisation: City of Melbourne        

Project: Project Night Justice

Grant funding: $193,000

About the project

Project Night Justice was a joint initiative, led by the City of Melbourne in collaboration with Full Stop Australia, Crime Stoppers Victoria, Victoria Police and the University of Melbourne and was delivered between July 2021 and June 2023.

The project was initiated to support the safety of women and gender diverse people in the Melbourne CBD and in licensed venues at night.

Key Objectives

Project Night Justice aimed to improve personal safety for women and gender diverse people visiting the Melbourne CBD at night through a suite of activities including:

• Holding a Night Safety Summit
• Developing a Night Safety Charter and Toolkit
• Implementing the Step Up Speak Up sexual violence awareness campaign, and
• ‘A Good Night Out’ Accreditation program and training.

Project Outcomes

Two hundred and forty-six venue patrons were surveyed on their experiences going out in the Melbourne CBD at night. Eighty five percent agreed that sexual harassment is commonly experienced in the Melbourne CBD at night.

Seventy-five people attended the Night Safety Summit and a Night Safety Charter and toolkit were established following the summit with input from the participants.  

‘A Good Night Out’ training was provided to 20 licensed venues, including 71 venue staff, as well as broader public educational initiatives aimed at addressing the causes of sexual violence. Half the participants reported some improvement in their knowledge and awareness of sexual harassment and violence and had an increased likelihood of engaging in some forms of bystander intervention post-training.

General recommendations for improving safety coming out of the project included:

• Increasing availability and frequency of affordable public transport late at night
• Ensuring that a range of activities, including dining and cultural activities, are open and encouraged at night to a broader range of target audiences
• Expanding harm reduction services at night, including roving teams and safety hub locations to support the decriminalisation of public intoxication in Victoria
• Environmental design, including good lighting, open well populated areas
• Educational resources or campaigns on harm reduction and safer consumption practices for alcohol and other drugs.
   

Organisation: Monash University        

Project: Feeling Safe in Public Places - Co-designing community safety strategies in Local Government Areas

Grant funding: $296,994

About the project

‘Feeling safe in public places,’ which ran from June 2021 to June 2023, aimed to build the capability of local councils and communities to understand safety issues women experience in public places and identify strategies to improve women’s perceptions of safety in public places.

Key Objective

The primary objective of the project was to co-design an approach to understand and respond to safety and inclusion issues in public places for women in Melton, Monash, and Wyndham.

Project Outcomes

• The research team engaged with approximately 200 women, through surveys, interviews, focus groups and a co-design workshop held in November 2022, which included 41 women from a range of cultural backgrounds.
• A baseline of evidence on crime and safety issues in each LGA was developed for each council partner, increasing the knowledge of how to design crime prevention initiatives and increase feelings of safety for women.
• An engagement blueprint and three toolkits were co-designed by academics from Monash University, Griffith University, University of Sydney, Welcoming Australia, and Melton, Wyndham, and Monash councils.
• An increased awareness of safety and inclusion issues, sense of empowerment, connection and confidence in local councils from the participants involved.
• Enhanced collaboration and strengthening of the partnerships between the organisations involved in the project.

Organisation: Swinburne University of Technology

Project: Supporting Pasifika Islander youth towards positive life trajectories

Grant funding: $172,655

About the project

The project ran between June 2021 and May 2023 and worked with the Pasifika community in a strength based approach to support Pasifika young people into positive life trajectories through engagement in education.

Key Objectives

• Engage with community members (leaders, parents and youth) to co-design a culturally responsive framework for Pasifika youth.
• Co-design surveys, focus groups and interviews with members of the community to create the Pasifika Engagement Tool (PET) to develop an informed approach to enhance community engagement in education.
• Develop resources to compliment the PET for stakeholders who work with the Pasifika community. Knowledge built from the resources will enhance community engagement experiences and build positive relationships, leading to strong engagement with education for Pasifika youth.

Project Outcomes

• Over 50 participants attended a project launch event held on 9 October 2021.
• The project had 132 survey participants (36 parents and 96 young people) with diverse Pasifika identities.
• Two focus groups for parents and two for young people were run, with six participants in each group. Parent participants were encouraged to reflect on their children’s school experiences and provide recommendations for schools and teachers to create inclusive school environments for Pasifika young people. A young community leader was invited to support the young people to share their cultural and school experiences.
• The PET’s and factsheets were developed in a co-design approach involving research from survey responses, the parent and young people focus groups and 10 individual interviews with school principals, teachers, counsellors and youth workers.
• The PET tool recognised the strengths, knowledge and capabilities of Pasifika young people and their families. An Advisory Group was established during the project with Pasifika leaders and youth workers to provide insights into research design and data collection and enhance community benefit.
• The project strengthened community understanding and use of culturally relevant approaches to create more supportive and inclusive environments and increased awareness for Pasifika youth and local support services to inform better practices for engagement and understanding of the Pasifika community.
• Key partnerships included the Le Mana Pasifika Project Team at the Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY), Pasifika Advisory Groups, youth workers and local schools. There was also a strong partnership established between Swinburne University of Technology and CMY.
• Partnerships will continue beyond the scope of the project and continue to support the Pasifika youth in Victoria moving forward and the PET will continue to be used as a sustainable resource to support Pasifika youth with their education.

Organisation: The Centre for Continuing Education Inc.

Project: Finding Strengths

Grant funding: $300,000

About the project

‘Finding Strengths’ was a social crime prevention project designed to influence the underlying social and economic causes of crime associated with low educational attainment and inability to secure employment.

This program, which ran between June 2021 and May 2023, was designed to test a new approach to build capacity within the community by providing an intensive case management, therapeutic approach to support education and employment pathways for young people aged between 16-18 from the Hume region, who had previously committed a criminal offence, or were at risk of offending.

Key Objectives

• Identify learning difficulties including Dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and provide participants with information on strategies to assist them to better manage them.
• Partner with allied health professionals and provide assessments for prospective trainers or employers to better support the participants toward an identified pathway into employment or education.
• Provide a case management framework, using a strength based approach, to support young people to re-engage with education and employment and become more employable.
• Engage with the participants families, support networks and employer contacts to assist them to gain and sustain employment and reduce the youth offending rate.

Project Outcomes

The project provided intensive case management for 20 young people utilising resources such as Language, Literacy, Numeracy Assessments and Employment Readiness Scale survey tools. Learner Engagement and Employment Officers used a wrap-around case management model to provide support to participants and foundation courses were developed to provide valuable life, literacy and numeracy skills.

Referral pathways were expanded during the project, including participants being referred from Parkville and Malmsbury Youth Justice Facilities, which resulted in pre-release referrals into employment programs for young people returning to the region after release from incarceration.

New partnerships were established between The Centre for Continuing Education Inc. and the Shepparton Drug Court and Youth Justice Residential facilities in Parkville and Malmsbury. Existing partnerships were enhanced with the Community Work Team in the Hume Region and Department of Justice’s Employment Pathway Brokers, increasing local capability to reduce likelihood of recidivism.

Project evaluation established that:

• 12 participants engaged in employment or education and eight of those retained their positions for at least six months following the completion of the project. One participant is completing a Hairdressing course, one is undertaking a Certificate IV in Education Support, while another is completing a Butchery apprenticeship. It was also identified that those who sustained employment and further education demonstrated an increase in their social links, financial wellbeing and self-esteem, which are proven protective factors in crime prevention.
• 15 participants now have improved protective factors and/or reduced risk factors, which were measured through client surveys and observation.
• 9 participants were connected to relevant services, including drug and alcohol treatment, education, employment, family support and mental health services.

Organisation: Big Hart Inc.

Project: Something to Talk About

Grant funding: $240,000

About the project

‘Something to Talk About’ was a prevention program engaging young people through creative digital arts, including podcasts, music videos, short films and social media bites, to address everyday actions and attitudes that lead to Family Violence related crime.

The program, designed for people aged 10-15 from schools in Frankston North, ran between November 2021 and April 2023.

Key Objectives

• Build the knowledge and understanding around themes and everyday behaviours related to family violence, gender equity, consent, verbal and physical abuse, and coercive control.
• Build skills and confidence in young people to make positive choices and recognise negative behaviour within themselves and others.
• Connect young people with their community to build connection and cohesion and to shift negative perceptions around youth.
• Raise the profile of young people as positive community contributors.

Project Outcomes

The project engaged 80 young people across three schools through weekly creative digital arts workshops. A total of 267 workshops were delivered and 74% of students completed the program.

The students worked with artist mentors exploring different forms of self-expression though creative skill building. They produced a series of digital resources around themes associated with family violence and delivered several school and community events, reaching approximately 600 people.

Project evaluation identified a shift in the behaviours of the participants over the course of the program and a measurable growth in participants ability to understand and recognise family violence related behaviour, respect, consent and identity. Survey responses indicated the project also supported the participants to feel more connected to their school and broader community through participation and delivery of community events.