Walk Of Life Training inc. (WOLTi) focus is to assist disengaged youth who have broken up schooling, are in trouble with the law, are homeless or suffer from abuse in their homes. To access the youth most in need we  work at the Brisbane Youth Detention center (BYDC) at Wacol, where most young people are not only in detention, but also suffer Drug and alcohol addictions, have learning disabilities, mental illness, abandonment and abuse. They are also at high risk of suicide and live in families caught in the cycle of generational unemployment therefore only look forward to a life dependent on welfare. We also work very closely with Youth Justice Centers in many areas including Ipswich, Gold Coast, Logan, Western Districts and Cleveland assisting with T2S programs and Restorative Justice cases . We currently assist young people from the areas of Gold Coast, Logan, Western district, Scenic rim, Ipswich and Brisbane however, this year as our capacity grows we intend to cover every area from Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast.

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Our program is comprehensive in the way that, after the first part of the program delivered at BYDC during detention, we meet and continue assistance after release with every participant individually and continue case management in order to diminish the re-offence rate. This includes assisting the young participant at their area of residence and meeting their parents or careres, providing any assistance necessary to make their home life a safe and healthy one, and to progress towards independence and employment for the participant’s near future. 

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The Young people we assist have had a difficult upbringing and have learned many bad habits leading them to making more and more wrong decisions.  Many reside in homes where there is domestic violence, have been abused and used to commit crimes by care givers; they also have addictions, mental illness, and very limited schooling where most of them have been to detention numerous times. The re-offence rate is currently in excess of 80%, and with out adequate assistance to brake this cycle they will most likely grow into a life of poverty and crime as adults. Many of these participants have a very unsafe/unstable home or are homeless all together; some even re-offend intentionally because detention is safer than their home. The majority do not believe they have any abilities and can never succeed at anything other than crime and they have no guidance or appropriate support at home, however with the assistance of the WOLTi program the young people have the opportunity to experience the life skills they have missed out due to their circumstances and learn to discover their natural skills which eventually forms the base of a career plan. Also, with the individualised assistance after release they suddenly have a chance to succeed and we help keep them motivated and safe so they apply the necessary effort to change their life around 180 degrees. The WOLTi life and employability skills program in a non judgmental environment becomes effective to form the base of a bright future stepping away from the uncertainty and helplessness that comes with their present situation. 

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WOLTi has a holistic way to provide assistance to disadvantaged youth. The mainly through providing relief and bringing stability to oppressed youth and to youth at risk in terms of living arrangements where we assist finding alternative accommodation, advising on factors that increase risk, referring to specialised personal services, training on life skills and self-belief, preparing an individualised career path and one-on-one assistance to take the required steps to achieve the plan’s goal, providing food or essentials as needed, assisting stability by helping them sort out name changes, centrelink benefits, bank accounts, gaining ID documents, educating on the dangers of drugs and alcohol, helping with emotional support and development, providing contacts in the employment sector and providing funds to pay for qualifications or industry tickets to get their careers started.

It is our plan for this and next year to establish a mid-way house which will assist those participants that come out of detention to get a good start away from negative influence, drugs and temptations towards getting their lives out of the declining spiral and turned around to a positive and productive life. This set up gives us the opportunity to educate them in: respect for others, the importance of respecting the law and how to live in a healthy independent way.