DANDENONG
dandenong.starcommunity.com.au
Tuesday, 4 June, 2024
/DandenongJournal
@StarJournal_SE
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Katrina Bould, front, with YSAS youth support service workers at Dandenong. They say they will lose two of their colleagues due to State Budget funding cuts. 410079
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Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS
Crime fighters cut By Sahar Foladi
12693216-HP23-24
Two crucial frontline workers at Youth Support and Advocacy Service (YSAS) in Dandenong will lose their jobs after a cut in State Budget funding. Statewide, YSAS suffered a $1.85 million cut in youth crime prevention funds in this year’s State Budget leaving them short of 11 youth support service workers as of 30 June. YSAS argues that the impacts will be felt across the community, slashing crucial crime prevention programs amidst a rise in youth offenders. Its regional crime prevention manager, Katrina Bould says along with the devastating
news they’ll expect huge amounts of young people on the waitlist as a result of being under-resourced. “Those two positions ultimately carry a full case load and would see approximately 40 young people per year and their families on top of that, so we’re talking about 80-plus families impacted in our direct community in the southern region.” YSAS provides early intervention programs and services to at-risk young people between 10-17 years who either have had encounters with police or had their worried parents calling YSAS for help. The workers help to divert young people away from crime, support them to integrate
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back within the community through education, employment, social and recreational activities. “They are the young people who will ultimately be losing out in the end by not getting a service,” Ms Bould said. “When young people are ready for action, they are ready here-and-now to get that support. Even two weeks’ (wait) is long, and anything can shift in that time.” The current estimated wait time to be seen by someone at YSAS is four weeks which is expected to more than double to nine weeks after 30 June. Over the funding period of four years (20202024) YSAS received 1460 referrals with 75 per
cent becoming YSAS clients. “The complexity of young people coming through is different to what it was pre-lockdown. “We see lots of school disengagement cases. Schools are screaming out for us to come in and support,” Ms Bould said. This aligns with official crime statistics of a 26 per cent increase from 2022 in young offenders aged 10-17 in Greater Dandenong. As reported previously by Star Journal, this is the second-highest level in eight years with car thefts up by 32 per cent and aggravated burglaries up by 50 per cent. Continued page 6
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