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Annexe Education and Outreach Programs

Aim

The Annexe Education and Outreach Programs aim to reconnect disengaged secondary school age students with formal education, training or transition to employment, in a safe and supportive non-school setting.

Background

In 1997 and 1998, the Christian Brothers began working with Community Youth Justice organisations to support vulnerable young people in Cherbourg. Read more

Why it Works

Over the last six years Annexe Education has worked very well because of the strength of the partnerships of the people involved. This was critical to the success of the program in its initial form when the Christian Brothers partnered with YACCA. The YACCA Coordinator is an Indigenous woman from the Cherbourg community. She is a positive role model to the young people who come through the program. She has been the link to the community for the Christian Brothers. Read more

Keys to keeping this initiative alive

The success of the Program will always depend on its ability to reconnect young people with their families. It is hoped that the continued work both through the Annexe Program and the proposed Outreach Program, as well as other programs running across the community, will strengthen families, skills and connectedness for Indigenous young people in Cherbourg. Read more

Advice to others who might want to try this in their communities

Consultation and working with community members along with service providers and agencies is the key to developing programs which address the needs of disengaged youth. Identifying partners and building those partnerships should result in the right people doing the right thing at the right time for the young people.

Making sure that people from the community who know their community best are involved in committees and in making decisions about what should be done and by whom. ‘Getting the right people to do the right work with young people is a key strategy for success.’ – a comment from Annexe staff member.

It is also critical that the work involves the young person’s family throughout the time that the young person is being supported through such a program. If conflicts and previous breakdowns can be worked through there is a much greater chance that the young person will then have that necessary connectedness to the family and its support.

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