The challenges of working within and with Youth Justice Systems are widely understood and accepted. As a wicked problem that itself intersects with many other wicked problems, youth crime / recidivism is a genuinely difficult field in which to make positive individual, let alone systemic change. Social enterprises are often overlooked and even more often not even understood, and yet have much to offer in this space. STREAT is a work integration social enterprise that works with young people aged 16-24 years who are in crisis and providing them with the necessary individually tailored and wrap-around supports, training and employment pathways to move forward.
STREAT’s Thyme Out program creates a range of critical intervention points to support young offenders out of the juvenile justice system into supported employment. STREAT works with young people right across their justice journey from Prevention, Early intervention, Remand, Bail, Community Supervision, Custody, Parole and Exit.
Specifically, STREAT’s Thyme Out project aims to:
• Reduce the disadvantage suffered by Victoria’s juvenile offenders
• Maximise the sense of belonging and connectedness of juvenile offenders (through ongoing connections with STREAT, strong and healthy relationships with peers, employers and other support services)
• Provide juvenile offenders a ‘Healthy Self’ (emotional stability, physical health, independent living skills, resilience)
• Provide juvenile offenders a ‘Healthy Home’ (independent living skills, housing suitability, housing stability)
• Provide juvenile offenders ‘Healthy Work’ (work readiness, productivity, motivation, skills and knowledge, work experience,
• transitions into employment)
• Reduce the long-term community costs of youth criminal activity and recidivism.
This presentation will outline new ways of working with young people in the youth justice system.Thyme Out – An innovative social enterprise approach to working with juvenile offenders