Activities Undertaken While on the Program

The participants undertook program activities at rehabilitation centres, at the Liverpool Intensive Programs Unit (IPU) and at the Induction Unit. Recreational activities undertaken mentioned by the participants included: swimming, beach visits, movies, shopping, sports (for example, tennis, basket ball and bowling were mentioned) and gym visits. There were also educational courses run at the Intensive Programs Unit, as well as a range of program related counselling and other classes which are discussed below.

Some interviewees also took part in physical programs, camps and outings, usually run by NGOs or other services working in the alcohol and drug area. Several interviewees, particularly the young men, said they enjoyed the camps and other outdoor activities associated with these programs. As one young man put it:

The best stuff I’ve done has been the recreation - going on camp.

Been on different camps since being on the program. I’ve done [program name] and that’s like for young offenders or people with drug and alcohol issues and they take you away on a camp and show you how to have fun without drugs.

One rehabilitation centre in particular, in a rural setting, received several mentions from participants. For one young man and woman from the city, it was the rural setting of the activities as much as the activities themselves that pleased them:

I like the fact that you get time out for yourself here. You get a lot of time here. The weekend is for ourselves, we don't do any groups or anything. At the weekend we go shopping and come back.

Sometimes we watch a couple of movies and go and check the yabbies out in the dam. Very different to stuff that I done before

‘cos I grew up in the city.

There was fresh air blowing in my face, kangaroos jumping around - it was unbelievable. I was so peaceful and every day was a good day from the start of the morning because it was just so beautiful.

Environment and atmosphere makes a big difference. So different to being in Sydney - you know, seeing the stars.

Most participants liked the organised activities, but a few found them ‘boring’ or ‘a waste of time’. The value was often in the distraction from thinking about drugs, but most also saw the advantage of keeping occupied, gaining employment and other skills, and education as ways of attempting to improve or change their lives.

Educational courses

As described in the previous Section, educational courses were run for YDC program participants at the Intensive Programs Unit at Liverpool. Participants reported being

involved in courses based on schooling from Years 7-10. TAFE courses were also run from the IPU for some participants, while some of the young people went to TAFE courses elsewhere.

Twenty-three of the 32 participants interviewed in the first round said they had attended educational courses while on the program (70 per cent), while six said they had not attended such courses. A further three people did not answer the question.

Most said they found the courses useful, with some indicating they took them very seriously:

The fact they made me go to school was the most useful thing. Most of the time I was on the program I was just studying so I didn’t come in for any of the outings or anything. I think the Drug Court really helps you, because every week you’re being supervised, you have to come in every week so you’ve got to stay on track. And if you do start slacking off they’re going to start bugging you.

Some participants mentioned concentration problems, and problems with sitting still for too long, as on young woman put it, “I can't sit in a classroom because my concentration's never there”. Some of the young men complained that the Year 7-level classes were not challenging enough.

Many participants commented on the helpfulness of YDC workers in accommodating their activity needs, be they educational or vocational:

They’re helping me with TAFE and school and whatever I want to do. They don’t sit there and say “oh you have to go to school, you have to do this”. If you don’t want to go to school and you want to get a job they’ll get you a job.

Several participants commented on their future employment aspirations. Future vocational choices included: labouring, running one's own business (two participants), mechanics’ apprenticeships (two participants), driving fork lifts (two participants), tattooing, real estate, and becoming a singer/song writer.

Participants reported that YDC workers actively assisted them in making practical steps towards their chosen careers.

Got to choose my own course, and they’re letting me choose my own course now, so I reckon you get a bit of freedom to do what you want pretty much. If you’re not happy with something they’ll fix it up.

Some of the vocational courses which participants had undertaken with help from YDC workers included TAFE courses on vehicle painting, hairdressing and pre-employment; a hospitality/café course; and a bar and cocktail course with responsible gambling certificate. The participants taking these courses felt that this training was a significant step to them gaining employment in the future. Two of the young woman also had aspirations to work in the social services and YDC workers had assisted them in these aims.

I would like to be a youth worker and I’ve been finding out about it here and what I would need to do. I’m looking at it and trying to see if it’s the right thing for me. I thought about this because of working with the youth all the time, just being a kid and knowing what they want. I want to help kids so they don’t end up like me.

YDC workers also assisted some participants in making a ‘Say No to Drugs’ video at the Liverpool IPU, which two participants mentioned as a highlight of the YDC activities program for them.

In the first interview round, 19 of the 32 young people said that overall they were satisfied or very satisfied with education and training they had received while on the program (60 per cent), five of the young people said they were neither satisfied or dissatisfied (16 per cent), while a further five said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with education and training while on the program (Table 5.11). In the second interview round 10 people (55 per cent) said they were satisfied or very satisfied, two people said they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (11 per cent), and no one reported being dissatisfied.

Table 5.11: Satisfaction with education and training while on the program (first round of interviews)

Satisfaction Number Per cent

Very satisfied 4 12.5

Satisfied 15 46.9

Neither 5 15.6

Dissatisfied 1 3.1

Very dissatisfied 4 12.5

No answer 3 9.4

Total 32 100

Health, living skills, and Stop Offending classes

Some of the YDC participants talked about the health classes and their benefit. One young man commented: “It was useful to learn about the drugs and what they were doing to me”. A few of the young people also mentioned the living skills classes. One young man commented that it was “good to learn to balance your money”.

Two participants, a young woman and a young man, commented favourably on the benefit of the Stop Offending classes:

I enjoyed Stop Offending classes the most, ‘cos it shows how we were feeling and it also shows how other people were affected by what we were doing, and you really look back and think. You act out what happens and see other people felt.

The offending group I did was good, about different offences that we've done, and doing role play - victims and how they feel. That was a good one - I liked that.

Counselling

While there was a general consensus amongst interviewees that both the general counselling participants received and the specialist Alcohol and Drugs counselling were ‘useful’, there were mixed views on the relative benefits or otherwise of one-to-one and group methods.

I really like all the counselling – it’s good. There’s heaps of groups at rehab, and one-to-one counselling. Learning to live together and live a normal life with a daily routine. Not just - do something, get a shot, do something, get a shot. Learning to live without drugs.

Groups help you express how you feel…I was a bit quiet. NA [Narcotics Anonymous] meetings were good. You can sit back and listen to everyone else and what they’re going through, and how they avoid it.

The groups were useful because you could talk about your problems and the things you'd done in the past, and stop them from building up and coming back to haunt you. [Rehabilitation centre name] was the first place that I learned that talking about your problems helps and it does make you feel good afterwards. It was one of the first places that helped me come to terms with my habit. If it wasn’t for [Rehabilitation centre name] I would still be saying that I hadn’t got a problem – I’m not a car thief, I’m not a druggie, I don’t hang around the streets all night.

However, two young women on the program did not feel comfortable talking about their drug and crime problems in a group:

The drugs and alcohol counselling was stupid too because they had groups and one-on-one but I hardly had a one-on-one. Would have preferred more one-to-one. Didn't want everyone knowing my drug problems. Most of the kids in the room didn’t even shoot up - I felt the biggest junkie sitting there. I felt like real low-life scum. It’s not good for your self-confidence …

You’ve got counsellors telling you not to think like this or like that because it’s bad, and I already felt bad enough because of all the shit I’ve done. I hate talking about drugs and I hate talking about crime because I feel so bad about it. Some people have a laugh about it, “I used to be a junkie, and snatch people’s bags...”

One participant who thought many of the program activities were a waste of time still liked the one-to-one counselling. One also mentioned that his YDC worker became his individual counsellor and that because of this he didn't want to tell her everything, in case she might use it against him in court. Another young man said simply, “I didn't enjoy counselling because I don't think I need it”. One young woman on the program said, “Counselling wasn't helpful as I didn't want to be ‘counselled’, I just wanted to talk as a person.”

Overall, 17 young people (53 per cent) in the first interview round said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the Alcohol and Other Drug counselling they had

received. Nine said they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, and only three people were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied (Table 5.12). By the second interview round 12 people (67 per cent) still said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the Alcohol and Drug counselling they had received, with one person saying they were neither satisfied or dissatisfied and another that they were very dissatisfied.

Table 5.12: Satisfaction with Alcohol and Other Drug counselling

Satisfaction Number Per cent

Very satisfied 5 15.6

Satisfied 12 37.5

Neither 9 28.1

Dissatisfied 1 3.1

Very dissatisfied 2 6.2

No answer 3 9.4

Total 32 99.9^a

Note: a. Percentage total does not equal 100 because of rounding. This applies also to several other tables in this Section

Almost half of the young people interviewed in the first round said that they had not had any general counselling while on the program (44 per cent), but for the remaining 18 who did answer the question, 11 reported they were satisfied or very satisfied with this (34 per cent of the 32, or 61 per cent of the 18 who answered the question). Six reported that they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (19 per cent of the 32, or 33 per cent of the 18 who answered) and only one person reported they were dissatisfied with the general counselling they had received. By the second round of interviews 10 people out of the 12 who received general counselling said they were satisfied or very satisfied (83 per cent). One person reported they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, and one person reported they were very dissatisfied.

Satisfaction with Support from Juvenile Justice Officers and case workers

Two-thirds of the first interview group chose not to respond to the question asking them to rate their satisfaction with the support they received from their Juvenile Justice Officer. The reasons for this were not clear, but it may be that in spite of reassurances about confidentiality some participants were worried that their comments might get back to the staff concerned. Of those who did answer, all eleven said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the support they received (Table 5.13). In the second interview round, 15 people said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their Juvenile Justice Officer (83 per cent) with a further person saying they were very dissatisfied.

Table 5.13: Satisfaction with support from Juvenile Justice Officers

Satisfaction Number Per cent

Very satisfied 7 21.9

Satisfied 4 12.5

Neither 0 0

Dissatisfied 0 0

Very dissatisfied 0 0

No answer 21 65.6

Total 32 100

Two-thirds of the first interview group also chose not respond to the question asking them to rate their satisfaction with the support they received from their case worker.

As with the previous question, the reasons for this were not clear, but of those who did answer, 10 said they were very satisfied with the support they received from their case worker, and one person said they were satisfied (Table 5.14). By the second round of interviews 13 people (72 per cent) said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their case worker, with a further two people reporting they were neither satisfied or dissatisfied.

Table 5.14: Satisfaction with support from case workers

Satisfaction Number Per cent

Very satisfied 10 31.3

Satisfied 1 3.1

Neither 0 0

Dissatisfied 0 0

Very dissatisfied 0 0

No answer 21 65.6

Total 32 100

As with other aspects of the program, most comments from the young people about the support they received from caseworkers and Juvenile Justice Officers were positive. Many people commented that workers would always listen to them, even if they didn’t always do or agree with what the young person wanted. As was noted in the previous section, it was important for many of the young people to try and do well on the program for their caseworker or YDC worker, as well as for themselves.

I can talk to my JJO – he’s a legend. I want to get his hopes up.

It felt good talking to the workers. They really did understand, and whenever you asked them for help they'd always be there. Felt good when I got positive feedback instead of them telling me I’m a pain in the backside.

I felt that support had been there, and could go and talk to people if not happy, also that people on the program will listen. They usually come and see me I don’t even have to go and find them. Always asking how things are going.

They let me ring my mum or my case worker whenever I want to, so that’s easier. They listen. If something’s bothering me and I tell them, then usually that thing goes away.

They didn’t want me in custody - wanted me out as soon as possible. The fact that people were disappointed made me realise that they cared and that they were actually trying to help me.

However, other comments may provide some insight as to the reasons why the help of YDC or Juvenile Justice workers was not always sought by some of the young people on the program. Once again, it seemed to be related to not wanting to let workers down, or to a strong sense of independence and a determination to sort problems out on their own.

You get a fair bit of support from your case worker and your JJO. If I had rung them up and talked to them about the problems I was having things may have gone better, but you reach a stage where you’re sort of ashamed to talk about it to your caseworker and your JJO. So in a sense there is still some of it that’s down to you.

I didn’t feel that I could talk to people, ‘cos I thought that I wanted to sort it out on my own. Wanted to try it on my own first.