CREATE Foundation
Create Your Future Proposal
Funding provided: $80,000 per year for the period of the agreement
Protect term: 3 years
Background:
CREATE Foundation provides support, and promotes the voices of the 42, 0000 children and young people currently in care who are arguably the most disadvantaged in Australian society. Approximately 7000 of those children and young people live in Victoria. Create Identified, from both research and consultation with young people, that many of them were not “ready” or not in a position to be able to acquire and maintain a job.
Many find themselves homeless or in a unstable accommodation.
CREATE’s Report Card Found:
- 30% of young people report that they were homeless in the first year of leaving care.
- 46% of boys stated that they were involved in the juvenile justice system.
- 35% of young people completed Year 12
- 29% identified as unemployed (compared to the national average which is 9.7%)
- 64% of young people have no leaving care plan – which means no plan for their future.
- 28% were already parents themselves.
CREATE’s priority is to provide alternative education programs to assist young people become valuable members of society, especially to bridge the gap between young people in mainstream. Australia and young people with a care experience. CREATE offered for consideration, a program model called CREATE Your Future (CYE) that encompasses four gateways to support young people transitioning from the care system to independence (from age 14-25 years).
The gateways include access to:
- CYF website (transition planning and information)
- CYF grants program (corporate donations annually)
- Go Your Own Way transitional care planning package
- A series of 'Create Your Future' workshops
These workshops have been developed from the seven life domains of the “(LAC) Looking After Children”- a child protection tool used to address the needs of children and young people in care. Workshops have been developed over two levels beginners and advanced.
The workshops contents are: Life skills, Housing, Health and well being, Finance, Relationships, Education, Employment and Training, Identity.
Menzies has agreed to fund CREATE Foundation to deliver ‘CREATE your Future’ (CYF) workshops for to up 100 young people aged 14-25 in Frankston Mornington Peninsula as well as 2 camps for 36 further young care leavers per year. The funding includes a shared office in Frankston and a staff member 3 days a week enabling a permanent presence on the Peninsula.
The programs are set to launch in the New Year with excitement already building amongst young people in the area.
Menzies is confident that these workshops and camps will enable young people leaving care to reach their full potential.
