Panyappi Indigenous Youth Mentoring Program Evaluation

Panyappi Indigenous Youth Mentoring Program Evaluation
in supporting project sites to develop sustainability plans and fund them for a sufficient
length of time so they can be successfully implemented. 65 As one of the funding bodies,
the Crime Prevention Unit, State Attorney Generals’ Department, was active in providing
support and developing sustainability plans but this was not matched by the two other
funding partners.
We are sick of the merry-go-round. People get angry and frustrated at another
short-term handout that makes the government look like they are doing
something but little is left with the community as there is no ongoing support.
This is disappointing with a program like Panyappi that can offer important
things to young people who often have no one else to turn to, to tutor them in
life like a tutor does with schoolwork. (Program collaborator)
This situation raised the issue of whether, “these programs get set up to fail. I see that
as not only failing ourselves, but the community and failing the young people. If programs
are set up like this it’s really important to keep them running. To make a change, we need
successful programmes like this. If funding runs out, where is it going to leave the young
people?” (Panyappi staff).
Program collaborations
A central location for program collaborations was established through the Inner City
Triage group set up by Panyappi and the State Attorney General’s Department, Crime
Prevention Unit in the latter half of 2003. However the intention was to use it for
identifying young people and determining immediate referral options, and less for
ongoing service delivery. A program funder believed that creating the Inner City Triage
Group has, “brought to the attention of many people and government agencies that there
are some issues with young Indgenous i kds i especially withn i the city. It has aso l put
these issues on the table…an outcome that we weren’t expecting. We had a lot of
participation from other [youth and government] agencies in town. That level of
communication wasn’t there before. Panyappi has been the driver.” Unfortunately, in
May 2004 the Inner City Triage group was disbanded as the Department of Human
Services supported an alternative group for inner city workers that focused more on
networking, losing the interagency case discussion and decision focus.
Most other program-based collaborations occur with schools, FAYS, MAYT youth and
family workers, juvenile justice, and other family support programs. Schools have both
referred to and directly benefited from Panyappi’s work. One school with a high number
of Aboriginal students said that their enthusiasm for gaining mentoring support meant
they nominated more young people than could be absorbed, and realised it was easy to
overload Panyappi due to the intensive nature of the work and therefore small caseloads
required. Their experience of the program once a referral was accepted “really
depended on the nominated mentor after that. Some of the mentors were very good and
some were not very good at all” (Program collaborator).
65 The Foundation for Young Australians (http://www.youngaustralians.org/) has developed this approach over
the past two years, which is also known as “venture philanthropy.”
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