Save the Children will join local governments to deliver the major project designed to help at-risk Aboriginal children and young people in the southeast corridor.
Youth Minister Tony Simpson last week attended the launch of the project, which will run for two years.
Save the Children plans to reveal how the project will be implemented in Belmont in coming months.
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READ NOWIt will start by identifying hot spots and areas of opportunity to support youth in the Armadale, Gosnells and Belmont areas. One example of the many programs that would benefit from this co-ordinated approach is Ignite Basketball, which in the past has struggled to secure funding.
The funding announcement came less than 12 months after Save the Children’s report into the extreme disadvantage faced by many young people along Perth’s Armadale train line.
‘It means that the young people who have overwhelmingly told us they hang out on the trains and streets late at night because they ‘have nowhere else to go’, will be able to access and get even greater benefits from a whole range of services,’ Ross Wortham from Save the Children said.
‘For example, by working with the police and other key agencies, we’re able to identify young people who are at risk of engaging in crime and work with them more intensively to prevent it.
‘This commitment by the WA Government is an important step in making our work with young people as effective as possible.’