Lions Life Skills Centre

BACKGROUND

Two specific issues inform our rationale for seeking to establish the Lions Life Skills Centre:

EXITING FOSTER CARE:  A Queensland Perspective

Under current legislation, the provision of protective services and accommodation by the Queensland government ceases once a young person in care reaches eighteen years of age. 

Young people sometimes have to leave their placement foster home regardless of how long they have been living there and regardless of their readiness and personal maturity to cope with independent living. 

In the absence of appropriate transitional housing and financial support, young people who leave care will frequently either exit into services designed for homeless young people, rely on the goodwill of friends or relatives or at worst, transition into boarding houses, bed and breakfast hostels, the streets and night shelters.

Tragically, researchers have found that young people who exit the care of the Department of Communities (Child Safety) are over represented in the following statistics:

• Poverty
• Crime
• Drug and alcohol abuse
• Domestic violence and abuse
• Prostitution
• Psychiatric disability
• Homelessness

THE ISOLATION OF BEING A YOUNG PARENT

It is clear from research that young families can be more vulnerable and 'at risk' than some other families in managing the significant life changes that come with pregnancy and early parenting. Issues that impact upon young families can be:

• The untimely nature of the pregnancy (most adolescent pregnancies are unplanned)
• Disengagement or limited family support (many pregnant and young families do to have the support of a loving family, conflict and estrangement frequently increases at the disclosure of an unplanned pregnancy and the choices to be made: some adolescents will have family experiences e.g. violence, abuse and neglect which, can have a negative effect on their health and wellbeing and make it more difficult for them to make informed healthy choices, trust other adults and have help seeking abilities; some will have already come to the attention of the child protection system or children and young people themselves)
• Single parenthood (most adolescent women will carry, deliver and rear their children without the support and assistance from the father of their children)
• Social isolation (an extremely high proportion of young pregnant women drop out of school; many become increasingly isolated from established peers during pregnancy and parenting; establishing new peer supports can be challenging at this time)
• Financial problems
• Structural barriers (eg affordable, stable accommodation options are extremely limited particularly to under 18's, those who have no rental history, no employment history and are single parents; cheaper housing options are frequently further away from services such as transport, shops, health clinics, doctors etc, particularly compounding social isolation with geographical isolation)

A NEED FOR AN EFFECTIVE DUAL MODEL OF SUPPORT:

LYEAC believes that an effective model of support through the Lions Life Skills Centre (LLSC) must take into account the need to both:

1. Provide a 'continuum of care' for young people exiting the care of Queensland Department of Child Safety, previously living in Clyde House. This is so that the young people concerned can make a graduated transition from formal supervised support to increasing independence as they mature and grow older.

2. Provide a range of social, personal parenting, life skills, mentoring, health and welfare programs.  Our belief is that in supporting isolated and sometimes dislocated young families, we can provide an effective early intervention and prevention program with a clear aim of reducing domestic violence, child abuse and neglect.

OUR TARGET GROUP WILL BE

• 16 - 24 year old young people transitioning from care or are at risk of homelessness, and are referred to the Managers, Kidz Youth Community (KYC).
• Young pregnant women and their children, and their partner that have been referred to KYC or through other youth organisations such as Balloo Crisis Care, Young Parenting Program or similar organisations caring for youth.

LLSC will provide to young people who are at risk of homelessness or are exiting from care

LLSC services will focus upon

• The identification of past and current trauma, grief and anger that may inhibit or prevent young people from making a smooth transition into independent living or acting as an effective parent;
• Facilitate, where appropriate, the redevelopment of relationships with the young person natural parents, siblings and extended families;
• Assist in the creation of links to appropriate support networks including sports and social clubs, parent support groups and other special interest groups;
• Providing training in life skills, particularly those relating to independent living, communication, health, relationships, parenting, job seeking and accessing further education and training; and
• Assist in the development of saving plans to better facilitate young people's ability to access independent accommodation etc upon leaving care.

The Lions Life Skills Centre consists of:

1. LYEAC House & Life Skills Training Centre

• One large 2 story building containing the LLSC house for onsite management on the top level and
• Life skills teaching facilities, Kitchenette, toilet, disability toilet and shower and resource storage on the ground floor

2. Residential Townhouses - short to medium term accommodation

• Two 2 bedroom and four 1 bedroom units with self-contained open plan kitchens, bathroom and lounge facilities;

 Lions Life Skills Centre Operating Principles

All volunteers and staff employed for the LLSC will aim to provide services that are ethical, respectful and professional.  This means that they will:

• Not include or erect barriers to residents access to any services they require;
• Treat residents with respect, recognising the inherent dignity and uniqueness of each individual;
• Protect the confidentiality of all records, materials and communications regarding each resident, their families and significant others;
• Uphold residents' ethical and legal rights, including their right to make their own decisions and to participate actively in any plans made on their behalf;
• Commit to equitable practice and the prevention and elimination of all forms of discrimination in service provision;
• Demonstrably assist residents to reach their full potential in life;
• Provide high quality care, including safety and security of person and property;
• Identify and objectively appreciate staff strengths and limitations as practitioners, and those of the service, and be willing and able to recognise when it is in a resident's best interest to refer him or her to another program or practitioner to meet their needs.

Our partnership with Kidz Youth Community (KYC)

Lions Youth Emergency Accommodation Centre (LYEAC) and Kidz Youth Community (KYC) have entered into a Service agreement for the full management of the Lions Life Skills Centre (LLSC) complex.

KYC TRAINING

KYC offers a range of training for young people, families and community as well as youth and other sector services. These include but are not limited to:-

• 'On the Ground' - Volatile Substance Misuse worker training.
• VSM Diary Tool and Worker Application Training.
• Me, My Mind, My Body ¿ Volatile Substances, Marijuana and Alcohol program for young people that are affected by these substances.
• 'In Control' Anger Management program for young people.
• Parent's Program - 'Living with Young People' covering alcohol and other drugs, communication, today's environment, etc.
• Service Support with Operational Planning, Policy and Procedure for organisations including specialist policy such as Risk Management, Outreach, etc.
• Worker training - youth work from brief intervention to complete case management.

KYC PROGRAMS

KYC Youth Reach - supporting young people and families affected by volatile and other substance misuse. The program provides intensive case management, family work, community, worker and young people education and training. 24 hr, 7 day pw, 365 days per year crisis assistance for young people aged 12 to 17 affected by volatile and other substance misuse. Funding Department of communities.

KYC Get Set For Work - supporting young people aged 15 - 19 years of age that are disengaged from education, further education and employment. The program sees holistic case management and support, living and pre-employment skills development, literacy and numeracy, school re-entry, further education and employment support and a range of industry skills development through KYC's Social Enterprise program. Funding Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation.

KYC Stepping Up & Out - program providing support for persons aged 18 to mature age through case management, skills development, training and further education opportunities and employment support. Funding Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation.