Introducing our New Teen Life Skills Program

We are proud to have officially launched our new Teen Life Skills Program. This unique Program is set to change the life direction of young people (aged 12 – 24) at risk.

Children in out of home care (OOHC) are 68 times more likely to appear in the Children’s Court than any other youth.

With the generous support of the Safer Communities Fund, we are hoping to improve this statistic. We are proud to announce the launch of the first of it’s kind Teen Life Skills Program.

With over 17 years’ experience providing evidence-based mentoring and programs for children in OOHC, we will deliver the Teen Life Skills Program to support vulnerable youth at risk, empowering them through learning, life-skills, and confidence.

The Program will focus on educational development, self-efficacy and social inclusion to prevent anti-social behaviour and improve community resilience.

The Pyjama Foundation CEO and Founder, Bronwyn Sheenan OAM, said the program is filling a gap that remains for youth in care who are incredibly over-represented in the criminal justice system, and will have a massive impact on the life outcomes for so many.

“There are currently over 47,000 children living in out-of-home care, an increase of 21.6% since 2016. Many of these youth experience poor educational achievement levels, drop out of school, and suffer long-term occupational, social, and wellbeing impacts,” said Bronwyn.

“The Teen Life Skills Program will initially benefit over 300 children aged between 12 – 24, with the plan to extend this impact further.

“Thank you to the Federal Government and The Safer Communities Fund for their contribution to our Teen Life Skills Program. This support will change the life outcomes of so many young people in out of home care.”

The Life Skills Program, at it’s largest potential reach will be supporting Australia’s most at-risk group of youth to dramatically decrease the statistics of over-representation in the criminal justice system.

To officially launch the event, we were joined for a morning of celebrations by Foster Carers and Program Recipients.

We look forward to seeing all the wonderful success stories from this important Program.

Click here to learn more about the Love of Learning Program.