Eight years ago, Andy Brittain met a young Geelong boy he knew needed help.
“He hated life,” Andy says. “He was a victim of family violence, and he was completely disconnected from school and the community. He was very anti police and authority.”
A policeman himself at the time, Andy was running programs to support ‘at risk’ youth in the Geelong region.
“This boy went into our program, engaged with the rest of the group and slowly improved his life,” Andy says. “Now he’s been employed with Victoria Police for the last three years. I even had the opportunity to present him with his police identification. From someone who was so anti-establishment, I’m very proud of him.”
Andy is now part of a small team running Geelong Youth Engagement, an organisation established in 2020 to improve the futures of young people between 15-18 identified as ‘at risk’ youth in the Geelong, Surf Coast, Bellarine, Colac, and Golden Plains regions.
With 50% of the state’s suicide deaths of boys under 18 occurring in the Geelong region last year, mental health intervention is a major priority for ensuring a positive future for Geelong youth.
“One of the biggest challenges for us and the kids is mental health issues, especially after Covid,” Andy says. “So many kids are disconnected from their community and need help.” Commitment from the young people Geelong Youth Engagement works with is the first step to turning their lives around, Andy says.
“It’s difficult for them to come to us and bare their soul, to tell us they have been struggling and using drugs or doing crime, but if they commit one hundred per cent, we can give the same back in return.”
Geelong Youth Engagement has recently received a $30,000 grant from the Geelong Community Foundation to assist with program administration and operation costs that will support development & implementation of programs for at-risk young people that will encourage engagement with education, employment and family, increase confidence, build resilience and self-belief.
The mental health crisis is a priority need area for the Geelong Community Foundation. This grant was one of 54 grants distributed this year, totalling over $1 million to community organisations across the region. The Geelong Community Foundation’s grant program has been achieved by donations, gifts in wills and our investment performance.
