After eight months in operation, the ‘Betta Men’ male youth development program run by the Tenterfield Family and Youth Support Service is facing an uncertain future.
Tenterfield Family and Youth Support Service Centre Coordinator Jenny Melmeth said she had high hopes and fingers crosses the service would be able to continue into 2010, but at this stage she was unable to guarantee funding would be renewed again.
“We’ve had such a positive experience in such a short time, we’ve achieved all we set out to and more,” she said.
“Hopefully the results will speak for themself.”
The Betta Men program was put in place to help eight to 16 year old male youth who were at high risk of dropping out of school or falling foul of the law. The program aimed to help the participants set and achieve life goals while building self-esteem, pride and confidence.
Ms Melmeth said the program focussed on rewarding good behaviour, academic and sporting achievements with excursions and outings across the region.
Since April the participants have attended a number of workshops teaching first aid, goal setting, personal health, money management and much more. They met Anthony Mundine, representatives from Hunter New England Health, attended cultural education in the local area and worked with the local State Emergency Services - to name just some of the year’s events.
Tenterfield’s team currently hold the top spot in an inter-city rugby league competition held between teams of men in similar programs from Armidale, Inverell and Moree.
And there have been academic successes in 2009 as well, with three of the participants graduating from year 10 at Tenterfield High School and plans to return and finish years 11 and 12.
Ms Melmeth said the men had stayed out of trouble with the police, and that feedback from Tenterfield Shire Council had indicated that business people had also seen positive changes in youth behaviour in the time since the program began.
“Their next big goal is to find work, doing lawn-mowing jobs and the like after school,” she said.
“We’re working on getting them employed in the community, still with support and mentoring of course.”
The majority of those involved in the program are indigenous men, but it is not a program exclusively for indigenous youth.
The Department of Juvenile Justice has provided funding for the Betta Men program thus far and Ms Melmeth said she hoped they would continue to do so. The program has already successfully re-applied for extended funding in September 2009 with the next round expected in March.
“It is something needed in town,” Ms Melmeth said.
“If we hadn’t have run the program throughout the holidays the boys would not have had much else to do and idol hands are the devil’s tools.”
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