Outreach Program Helps Young African Refugee Men Connect with the Community

09 Jan 2012 - In an ongoing team effort, Youth Connections and outreach workers are actively helping a group of troubled African refugees find their feet and their path in their new home in Australia.

Our experiences during youth greatly affect how we see the world. For young people who experience severe trauma and loss at an early age the negative impacts of such experiences can remain with them long into their adult years. This is certainly true for a group of young African refugees who recently arrived in Australia and have since connected with WCIGs Youth Connections Refugee Counsellor.

Dealing with unthinkable traumas from their countries of origin and with the stigmatisation associated with being newly arrived immigrants, this group of young refugee men have a lot in common.  Of the common bonds they share the most alarming is their addiction to illegal drugs and alcohol. Desperate to escape their traumas each of these men seemingly turns to substance abuse as a coping mechanism but unfortunately it is their habit that ultimately lands them on the wrong side of the law and caught up in the revolving door of the justice system. By their own admissions they say they are seen as 'trouble-makers' by their community.

WCIG’s Youth Connections’ outreach workers quite literally reached out to this group, by finding them in the leafy park they frequented to make contact and to establish trust. Many of these men were at risk of homelessness, had not been able to complete their education, and had little in the way of family or support networks. The men felt as though they were not truly supported by any of the many social welfare services they were passed between over time, most of them did not work and felt generally lost in and rejected by mainstream Australian society. All of this created a sense of helplessness and hopelessness.

However, over a period of time, the frequent visits by the outreach team led to the group opening up about their stories. These visits soon grew, and more local support services contacted Youth Connections, keen to join the outreach team. And soon, these visits increased from once weekly to twice weekly, and encompassed monthly barbecues, and workshops on art and music – and importantly, workshops on what the men felt were important to them, like legal information and help with responsible drinking.

The establishment of this trust within this group and the outreach team allowed the relationships and connections to grow, and two of the young men have since accepted formal help from Youth Connections. It is our hope that soon, more will do the same, so that they can be helped to find their paths in their new home.