Awards 2002
Reuben F Scarf Young Person of the Year - Mr Gavin Talbot.
Gavin became a member of PCYC Shoalhaven in 2000, and began to participate in Club sport and recreational activities. He has become an integral part of the social network upon which the PCYC is based.
In October 2000 Gavin was instrumental in forming the Shoalhaven PCYC Youth Council and was elected by his peers as Vice President. In that capacity he actively promoted the Club and encouraged young people to participate in decision making by helping to choose the activities held at the Club. In 2001 he was elected as President of the Youth Council. Gavin was recognized for his character and the leadership qualities he has displayed at the Club.
Frank Scarf Sportsperson of the Year Award - Ms Paris Robinson
Paris is 18 and has been a member of PCYC South Sydney for seven years. She has participated in a number of programs including A Grade basketball, touch football, swimming and HSC tutoring. She is currently the Captain/Coach of the female oz-tag team consisting of 'at risk girls aged 15 to 21 years. Paris has also excelled in her non-club activities including Hurdles, Rugby League and touch football, and was chosen by NSW Sport and Recreation to represent NSW at the National Indigenous Athletic Carnival at Uluru in 2001. She also attended the State Indigenous Athletic Carnival in Griffith in 2001 and 2002.
Over the last two years Paris has become a Club Council member and supervises a number of Club activities and sporting programs including coaching students from a culturally and linguistically diverse background in a variety of sports and conducting school holiday programs for youth in the Redfern/Waterloo area.
Life Time Service Award - Mrs Dora Simm
Dora has been involved with the Newcastle PCYC since its very inception in the late 1940's. This is when, along with her late husband Mr W Frank Simm OAM, the Newcastle Rotary Club were approached to assist with the formation of the club. Since then Dora continues to be one of the most active members of Newcastle, with particular interest in the Brass Band Section of the Club. Some 50 years ago, her original involvement was with the Swimming and Pipe Band Sections.She is secretary today of the Brass Band, a position she has now held for 42 years. She has been a member of the Club Council for the past 25 years. Dora has constantly promoted PCYC and was responsible for the Brass Band traveling to compete interstate on many occasions, as well as on two occasions traveling to the United Kingdom and Switzerland to take part in the World Festival of Youth.
Dora has been a Life Governor of the Club since 1976 and Patron since her husband's death in 1998. Dora recently celebrated her 90th birthday.
She has also been awarded the NSW Band Association's highest honour the "Gold Life Award". She has spent a lifetime giving freely of her time, talents and finance to assist the youth of Newcastle, and has never accepted any remuneration or reward for her work. To many of the young people in the Newcastle club over many years, she has made a real difference.
Award for Club Achievement - Blacktown PCYC
For its range of its strategies and programs, including:
Youth suicide programs with ERYC (Youth Suicide Prevention) and the local Police Station.
"Side-Step+Score" run in conjunction with the Department of Community Services, the Department of Housing and NSW Police to reduce crime in the Toongabbie Housing Estate and provide alternative activities for young people.
The "Links" program run in conjunction with Mission Employment, the NSW Department of Education and other agencies to reduce crime and truancy and develop the confidence of young people.
Blacktown also stood out for the way it promoted participation and leadership by young members at
the Club through Youth Committees which ran events such as the Band Night, and through the training
of young people to coach gymnastics at the Club.
Commissioner's Award for Program Excellence - Coffs Harbour PCYC
For its "Youth on the Go" (YOTG) Program. YOTG is a targeted program working with 14-18 year old young people involved in the juvenile justice system or who are at risk of entering the system. It is a multi-agency partnership led by Coffs Harbour PCYC and including the Department of Juvenile Justice, Harbour Youth Centre, Centrelink, TAFE Outreach, Mid North Coast Aboriginal Education Training Unit and Coffs Harbour City Council. Initial data suggests that the program averages a 76% decline in offence rates by the young people involved.
The program first commenced in September 1999 as a "Small Motors Course" and has since evolved to include a number of Workskills TAFE based courses operating from TAFE and the PCYC, after the youth involved identified literacy as a need. In addition to small motors, courses also offered are boat building and, in the area of life-skills, completion of the Bronze Medallion.
The YOTG success is evident by the number of young people who now request to be involved. The YOTG program grew in 2002 to a team including a full time and two part-time youth workers, and two buses running five days a week, and 40-50 young people involved in the program.
Board Awards for Innovation - PCYC Lake Macquarie
For its use of evidence-based program development to deal with offending behavior by young people who are repeat offenders. Its program, known as the Group Program is run in partnership with the NSW Department of Juvenile Justice and involves a one day a week program run over five weeks for young people who were repeat offenders or recently released from a detention centre.
The Group Program is a cognitive-behavioural intervention that uses a relapse prevention model and identifies high risk offending situations for young repeat offenders. It uses a learning style that requires active participation by the offender, and it is skill orientated, teaching problem solving and social interaction through role playing. The program also incorporates alcohol and other drug education and anger management techniques.
Lake Macquarie Pacific Dreams
Eight young people who have come under Police notice learnt how to surf through a Youth in Sport funded program designed and delivered by PCYC Lake Macquarie. The program, conducted over the summer of 2002/2003, was a partnership between the Club, Eastlakes Youth Centre, the NSW Department of Juvenile Justice, Lake Macquarie Alternate Schooling, local Police, Anna Bay Surf School and the Pacific Dreams Surf Company.
During the program participants learnt new surfing skills and all about beach safety, had the chance to speak to police and youth workers about issues impacting on their lives and went on a trip to see surf boards being manufactured.
A local surf company, Pacific Dreams, donated a custom made surfboard to the young person who showed the most dedication to learning to surf and who met the behavioural and attitude requirements of the program. Four other participants received refurbished second hand surfboards, also courtesy of
Pacific Dreams.
Newcastle Breakaway
The Newcastle Breakaway program is a challenging 12 week intervention program that empowers young people to change the negative cycles and behaviours within their lives. The Breakaway program funded through 2002/2003 Youth in Sport involved eight young men who had already become involved in criminal activity. Breakaway adopts the Duke of Edinburgh Award's self-development concept with successful completion of all components leading to a bronze certificate. Young people learn basic first aid, learn about drugs, alcohol, sexual health and nutrition, receive assistance with vocational and educational placements, participate in a crime prevention workshop and get to try heaps of fun activities like rock climbing, ten pin bowling and indoor cricket.
Since the program commenced in 2000, it has achieved local and state recognition including winning the NSW Police Service Commissioner's Award for Program Excellence. It has been used as a best practice model for implementation by a number of other PCYCs.
The motto of the Newcastle Breakaway program is
"There are no failures in life, just degrees of success".
Three PCYC Police Youth Programmers won community recognition for the quality of their work and service.
Senior Constable Mick Ward - Macarthur Police Officer of the Year
Spraying graffiti and smoking pot at Ingleburn has been replaced with playing sport and surfing the net, thanks to the Macarthur Police Officer of the Year, Michael Ward.Based at PCYC Campbelltown, Mick's proactive initiatives led to a 50% drop in youth crime, winning him a 2002 NSW Police Crime Management Award, together with the overall prize from three Macarthur Area patrols. He first introduced the 'Hassle Free' night in a bid to curb problems among youth in the area, as well as pioneering an Internet cafe at the Minto Mall, which has deterred crime and improved harmony between shop-keepers and young people. Mick said his role at the Club gave him a chance to get to the crux of young people's problems, which he thinks is mainly boredom. "It's involved a lot of changes since I was in general duties policing" he said.
"All we did was chase people and lock them up. I didn't have the time to spend finding out their problems, and doing something about it"
Senior Constable Jeffrey Doherty -Blue Ribbon Police Officer of the Year
Nominated by a member of the community for working with offenders and victims of crime and helping them to become better community members, Jeff is best known for his work with young people at PCYC Bathurst, where he runs a domestic violence club.Radio 2UE breakfast announcer Steve Price said Snr Cst Doherty was an inspiration to communities across New South Wales. Supt. Shorrocks, A/Commander of PCYC said Jeff's work was a great example of how Police can actively improve relationships between young people, police and the community. "It helps the community enormously and saves a lot of money through savings in trauma counselling, heath issues and the prevention of young people being gaoled" he said.
Senior Constable Michelle Drury -Sutherland Shire Police Officer of the Year
The award, organised by Rotary to recognise outstanding work by Police, saw Michelle win from 23 nominations in the community section. A serving Officer for 15 years, she has been club programmer at PCYC Sutherland for 10 years.
Over this time PCYC Sutherland has achieved one of the highest levels of membership of any Club in NSW. The Club runs a diverse and highly successful range of programs, from its hugely successful Friday night drop-in to traffic offender programs, judo, karate, gym, rock eisteddford, drug and alcohol awareness, weights and yoga, to name just a few.
The Club has also recently introduced an outreach program into local housing estates, actively encouraging young people from these areas to get involved.
She is thankful for the opportunity to be "out in the community, working with young people and so many people in a job that I enjoy".
