Learning to help others<\/a><\/p>\n I’m from Mantjiljarra country. It’s sacred. When I started heading down a dark path, my grandfather helped me out.<\/p>\n Nye’s mother and grandfather encouraged him to move to Burnie in north-west Tasmania, Pataway Country.<\/p>\n He arrived to a landscape of lush green pastures and a penguin-filled coastline. A place that could not have been more different from the home Nye knew on the edge of the desert.<\/p>\n “It was hard for me at first,” he remembers.<\/p>\n “But then I just kept calling my mumma and she kept motivating me to keep going, stay on track.”<\/p>\n Nye joined the local footy team, the Burnie Dockers, which helped him get into shape physically and mentally.<\/p>\n “Pushing through all the training, pushing through all the hard difficulties, and the weather, I reckon my teammates and my coach helped me on my way along,” he said.<\/p>\n “That support and team, I never had back in WA.\u00a0<\/p>\n “My footy crew, I need them more than anything now.”<\/p>\n Nye wants to train and mentor other young people through football. (ABC: Marc Eiden)<\/p>\n How community activities can curb youth crime<\/p>\n Youth crime researcher Natalie Gately said there were a number of reasons community-based youth activities such as football were effective in preventing youth crime.<\/p>\n They included exposing young people to positive role models, being occupied by a positive activity, and the sense of belonging, confidence and pride that brings, Dr Gately said.\u202f<\/p>\n “It boosts self esteem and boosts confidence, which then gives them a better long-term picture of what their life is going to be like.<\/p>\n “It also builds those community bonds and then they start giving back.<\/p>\n “They start coaching the younger kids or they start volunteering for the club and suddenly, their whole life has changed.”\u202f<\/p>\n Dr Gately, a senior lecturer in criminology at Edith Cowan University in WA, has led research projects into young offenders, youth justice and public perceptions of youth crimes.\u202f<\/p>\n Youth crime probe makes 19 recommendations<\/a><\/p>\n The chair of a parliamentary inquiry into youth crime says there are virtually no services available to young people after dark, while the cost of detaining a young offender soars past $1 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n She said the increasing costs associated with sport and after-school activities were also a barrier.<\/p>\n “When you look at sports today, they’re quite intensive for parents,” Dr Gately said.\u202f<\/p>\n “You’ve got to volunteer, you’ve got to pay your fees, you’ve got to pay the insurance money, you’ve got to pay for the uniforms \u2014 so that’s an automatic barrier.\u202f<\/p>\n “A lot of these kids don’t have engaged parents.”\u202f<\/p>\n Natalie Gately says there are barriers to families taking part in sport and after-school activities. (Supplied: Edith Cowan University)<\/p>\n Dr Gately said supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to take part in these kinds of activities required additional buy-in from community programs and members, both financially and in terms of volunteer hours.\u202f<\/p>\n “If you want to set up a local footy team that includes the naughty kids, sometimes you get some community pushback as well,” she said.\u202f<\/p>\n “So it’s about having the right people that can set it up and in a very positive manner where the community aren’t going to get concerned about it.”\u202f<\/p>\n From youth crime to mentor<\/p>\n Youth crime was a big part of Jayden Sheridan’s life, growing up in the regional Victorian town of Seymour.<\/p>\n As a teenager, Jayden was involved with drugs, drug dealing and fights.\u00a0<\/p>\n When he became a father at 17, Jayden decided to turn his life around.\u00a0<\/p>\n Skateboarding was how he did it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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