Tahs Together: Waratahs help tackle youth offending cycle
The Department of Justice and the NSW Waratahs yesterday teamed up to help Pacific Islander young offenders get back on track through community engagement and education.
A group of young offenders supervised by Juvenile Justice in the community attended Allianz Stadium to meet with Waratahs players Tatafu Polota Nau, Wycliff Palu, Sekope Kepu and Will Skelton, who spoke about the importance of setting goals and engaging with their Pacific cultures.
NSW Attorney General and Minister for Justice Brad Hazzard said sport is beneficial in linking young offenders with supportive community organisations and helping to break the cycle of re-offending.
“Playing sport is a really effective way to help break the cycle of offending, particularly for juveniles,” Mr Hazzard said.
“The value of belonging to teams and clubs is well-recognised and helps keep at-risk youngsters from mixing with the wrong crowd and engaged in positive community activities.
“Juvenile Justice NSW works hard to address the reasons why these young people offend, but it’s also important to connect them with their culture and the local community.”
NSW Waratahs No. 8 Wycliff Palu said sport had given him focus and ambition and he hoped he had inspired some of the young men to follow a similar direction.
“Sport was a great outlet for me and kept me on the straight and narrow. I hope by sharing my experiences and values with these young men it will inspire them to achieve their goals and do great things with their lives,” Palu said.
“I also believe it’s particularly important for Pacific Islander youth to be engaged with their culture. I’m from a Tongan background and I know a lot of young men in juvenile justice centres share the same background as me.”
“If I can help just one young person get their life back on track, it will be worth it,” he finished.
The visit, organised through the ARU’s NSW Rugby Development team, was part of the NSW Waratahs’ Tahs Together community program which sees players and coaches support communities across NSW throughout the season.
Through hundreds of activities and events, the NSW Waratahs will meet and interact with supporters and communities from across the state as part of an ongoing community engagement and support program. Each year, Waratahs Rugby contributes well over $1,000,000 to support the development of the community game through grants and payments to the New South Wales Rugby Union.
Photos and further information on the NSW Waratahs’ Tahs Together events and community activities are posted on the NSW Waratahs facebook page. Full information on the program is available from the Community section of waratahs.com.au.
About Juvenile Justice NSW
Juvenile Justice supervises young people on Legal Orders. The organisation works with young people who have broken the law, by trying to educate and inspire them to make positive choices about their life and to reduce reoffending.
The session was part of Juvenile Justice’s Pasefika Revisited – Islands Of Change (PRIOC) program. The eight-week program is aimed at engaging Pacific Islander clients while addressing their offending behaviours. Pacific Islander young people are the largest multicultural group of Juvenile Justice community clients, representing 6.3%. The majority of these young offenders are Maori, Samoan and Tongan and their offences are often linked to drug and alcohol use.
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