School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Building and evaluating Indigenous Youth empowerment and resilience programs
Associate Professor Melissa HaswellMuru Marri,
School of Public Health & CommMedicine and
Leaders, Managers, Program Deliverers and Youth from Six Outstanding Programs
We thank FAHCSIA for funding this project.
Acknowledging the Traditional Owners of this Land,
and that it is a great honour to be here among these many great cultures & learn,
take responsibility and hence belong...
Also acknowledging the huge contributions of many in the work presented here.
Starting Point
Young people are essential for a healthy and vibrant
society Youth as Being:
Energy ideas enthusiasm expression joy love growth learning identity diversity future potential freedom change agents creative vision etc
Youth as Becoming:
Mothers fathers aunties unclesMusicians artists actors dancers champions
Doctors lawyers teachers professors engineers scientists Debaters challengers leaders awakeners
Sharers and builders of Knowledge
Ecological Model of Health:Developing our lens: are we seeing the whole picture?
Youth as a pivotal time:negotiating change
Five core youth transitions
Source: World Bank (2006)
6
HIGH/VERY HIGH LEVELS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS(a), by
Indigenous status—2008 (a) In the last four weeks.
Source: 2008 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, 2007–08 National Health Survey
Youth can also be a very challenging time
Unfortunately, Youth can also be a dangerous time.
The proportional ‘gap’ in mortality between Aboriginal and non-Indigenous Australians begins at birth, and is already substantial by the teen age years.
Proportion of deaths(a)(b), Indigenous status(c), age group(d)and sex - 2007-2009 (ABS 2010).
Ecological Model of Health:How do we best inform the outer ring – our policy and practice?
Policy needs for youth social & emotional
wellbeing(the aims of our project)
How to connect the dots between the rhetoric and the reality?How to identity the ‘good stuff’ in programs?
– The right ingredients for their context– Capacity to be able to create and sustain– Ability to keep going despite the challenges
How can govt provide nurturing support for the good programs?How to help the good programs increase their voice in policy? How to help effective programs achieve their full potential?
Reviewing and extending the evidence and examining its
implications for policy and practice
Study Design
What did we find?What tools can we use?
Kids at high risk getting in with the wrong crowd
Lost in legal system
AngerVoicelessPlacing self at risk of harm and
causing harm
Worrying about losing child
Increasingly isolate oneself
Turned off by services that don’t understand them or are unreliable Mental health
challenges
Negative trajectory Can’t see any good in
self or society
Too shame to try
Serious family stressUnable to participate in previous activity Can’t see way forward
Negative cultural identity
SuicideCrime Drug
AlcoholSchool dropoutChild removed
Violence Incarceration
Unemployable Mental health illness
Familiar stories and situations faced by many Aboriginal youth, especially but not only, those experiencing substantial disadvantage.
The disempowered lens(culturally, socially, economically, educationally
disadvantaged)
Statistics most often measure these most negative outcome measures of disempowerment.
Some examples of the intermediate and ultimate positive outcome destinations that programs seek to help people reach for that are sometimes, but not always achieved. But the
picture is incomplete without considering the journeys between these two worlds that programs offer. There is an important incremental journey of empowerment that enables
people to sustain changes in the face of a still disempowering environment.
Kids at high risk getting in with the wrong crowd
Lost in legal system
AngerVoicelessPlacing self at risk of harm
and causing harm
Worrying about losing child
Increasingly isolate oneself
Turned off by services that don’t understand
them or are unreliable
Mental health challenges
Negative trajectory
Parent with skills and possibilities
Reengage with health services
Restored identity as good parent and capable person
Accessing support Finding talent
Reengaging with community and school
Chasing aspirations
Completing education and training
Employment
Stepping out of poverty & dependence
Diversity contributing to
society’s resiliencePride in
citizenship
(RE) Engagement with cultural expression &
identity
Can’t see any good in self or society
Too shame to try
Can see own
strengths and gain confidence
Serious family stressUnable to participate in previous activity
Can’t see way forwardNegative cultural
identity
SuicideCrime Drug
AlcoholSchool dropoutChild removed
Violence Incarceration
Unemployable Mental health illness
Kids at high risk getting in with the wrong crowd
Lost in legal system
AngerVoicelessPlacing self at risk of harm
and causing harm
Worrying about losing child
Increasingly isolate oneself
Turned off by services that don’t understand them or
are unreliable Mental health challenges
Negative trajectory
Parent with skills and possibilities
Reengage with health services
Restored identity as good parent and capable person
Accessing support Finding talent
Reengaging with community and school
Chasing aspirations
Completing education and training
Employment
Stepping out of poverty & dependence
Diversity contributing to
society’s resiliencePride in
citizenship
(RE) Engagement with cultural expression &
identity
Can’t see any good in self or society
Too shame to try
Can see own
strengths and gain confidence
Serious family stressUnable to participate in previous activity
Can’t see way forwardNegative cultural
identity
Healing. Recovery. Empowerment Regaining inner peace & sense of self capacity
WITNESSING ABORIGINAL LEADERSHIP
MENTORING & ROLE MODELLING
TRANSFORMATIVE RELATIONSHIPS
SAFE HEALING SPACE
CREATIVE FUN SPACE
EFFECTIVE YOUTH PROGRAM
SuicideCrime Drug
AlcoholSchool dropoutChild removed
Violence Incarceration
Unemployable Mental health illness
CELEBRATING ABORIGINALITY
Common active elements offered within the six
empowering youth programs studied shown in arrow
• Transformative relationships• Creative fun space• Celebrating Aboriginality• Mentoring and role modelling• Safe healing space• Witnessing Aboriginal leadership
Notjustwhattheydo‐ HowtheydoitCriticalEffectivenessFactors:Commonelementsthatmakethingshappenatthe
Youth:ProgramInterface
① Working from strengths ② Developing relationships first③ Generating positive feelings④ Being non‐judgmental, learning from mistakes⑤ Setting rules and boundaries⑥ Modelling openness, honesty, hope and trust⑦ Modelling reliability and consistency⑧ Maximising opportunities to make choices⑨ Celebrating small achievements, using these as leverage⑩ Facilitating connection to culture
How do we know a Program has these qualities?
Critical Success Factor ToolsC:
How can we know a Program is working effectively with
Participants?T:Tree of Empowerment; six steps pathway to empowerment
The GEMThe Growth and Empowerment Measure
“Its like a tree – there is a foundation (seeds, roots), then the energy and self‐esteem to look after yourself (trunk), so you can grow – the more you grow the bigger it gets… on the branches (of the tree) are education, job opportunities, housing”.
How do you see your relationships with other people? Please tick ONLY ONE box below that best describes the way you see your situation.
Are youpartly this
& partly that?
If so, please tick box
Are you here? If so, please tick
Box
Are you here? If so, please tick
Box
Are you here? If so, please tick
Box
Are you
here? If so, please tick
Box
Are youpartly this
& partly that?
If so, please tick box
Are youpartly this
& partly that?If so, please
tick box
My life is now rich and happier because of many
good relationships.
My relationships
give me peace and harmony in
my heart.
I am able to preserve this peace in my
home and family, even when we
disagree.
I have made a lot of progress in improving
my relationships.
I think a lot about listening
and talking sensitively to
people.
I seeimprovement
in the way people
respond to me.
I am gaining an understandingof my difficult relationships.
I have started to think about how to make them better.I think more
about what I’m saying.
I still have a lot of work to do to
improve my relationships.
I feel completely
trapped in my relationships.I am dealing with things
like: kids out of control, anger and fighting, gossiping, bullying.
Most of my relationships are harmful, not healthy.
Scenario11:Understanding&
improvingrelationships
Scenario2:Creatingsafetyforyourselfand
family
Scenario4:Having
confidenceinmakingchanges
Scenario7:Senseofknowingwho
youare
Scenario1:Abilitytodealwithemotionalpainandmove
forward
Scenario8:Abilitytospeak
outinthecommunity
Scenario 3:Responding to
others who are not taking
responsibility
Scenario 5:Engaging in learning
Scenario 6:Thinking about
your own spirituality
Scenario 9:Being respected in
workplace
Scenario 10:Dealing with judgment and
criticism
Scenario 12:Community
working together for change
GEM: 12 Scenarios
Just Surviving Growing effectively
Flourishing to reach full potential
Effective but not growing
Able to keep up a small presence and continue doing good work
despite major challenges
Able to provide, maintain and demonstrate positive impacts on a
small number of youth
Working effectively and increasing in capacity and reach while
maintaining effectiveness in helping youth move forward
Working well, growing in reach and scope and supported to play its full potential role in youth development
Not likely to be able to detect sustained impacts
Appropriate developed measures corresponding to program aims and
process will detect positive outcomes for participation but not
wider change
Appropriate outcome measures will detect positive outcomes on a wider number of youth participants, maysee slowing of negative trends
Will observe significant change in SEWB among indigenous youth
generally, and slowing, stopping and reversing negative trend
DEFIN
ITION
MEA
SURA
BLE
IMPA
CT
YOUTH PROGRAM INTERFACE
Needs time to learn, is developing future plans and getting funding
Support leadership at multiple levels and provide nurturing support
understanding constraints.Recognise local knowledge about
processes and avoid stress underfunding
Recognition from upper management levels, the community,
stakeholders and fundersProvide essential support for expanding reach and capacity
Provide support to reach full potential, encourage CQI mechanisms & qualitative
measurement of impacts and sustainability in the long term
One off with little or no ongoing follow up, brief encounter
Time to work with individual, peer groups, families and communities with the knowledge that this will
secure permanent change
Minimal ripple effect on others who may push back any long term
change
Family and friends can see the change in the youths’ lives, may reengage in school and set some
goals
Growing numbers of families and friends can see the change in the youths’ lives, reengage in school and set some goals, less likely to
lose momentum
Community is able to feel and be strengthened by the change in
youth, be proud and fully encourage their positive direction
SUPPOR
TRE
QUIRE
D
AMOU
NT
OF
CONT
ACT
RIPPLE
EFFECT
Rudimentary staff, highly overworked, no protective buffer to cover unexpected changes, reliant
on very stressed champion
STAF
F
Youth are engaged, enjoy themselves, unique experiences
they wouldn’t have otherwise, may help the most severely affected out of crisis, become aware of different possibilities, get a taste of what
healing is
Participants describe processes of healing, personal growth and
empowerment, some will be able to describe clear translation of these changes into their life trajectory
Growing numbers experience healing, personal growth and empowerment and capacity to
change life trajectory, some will not. Creates new awareness for
opportunities to efficiently deliver outcomes and meet wider needs
Program is able to promote broader healing, personal growth and empowerment among a broad
cohort of youth
DIRE
CT IM
PACT
Empowered workforce, can grow with demand and be proactive in increasing impact. Workforce
development mechanisms in place
Medium level of staff, stable and able to tolerate turnover but too small to meet demand or extend
reach
Sufficient and empowered staff, can expand with demand but busy and restricted in capacity to consider innovative ideas for new areas
Longer duration of contact, e.g. overnight camps or multiple short interactions, limited chance to reach into everyday life, limited family interaction due to time
constraints
Most effective programs are seriously struggling –there many factors that hold back their sustainability, growth and achievement of potential.
Multiple Layers of Critical Success Factors that Restrict or promote program
impact and outcome.
Use of these tools
• Engaging, planning, communicating, monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of Programs– Common active ingredients checklist (clearly articulating what we are doing) with community and program developers, etc.
– Critical Success Factors checklist (how are we doing this) with program deliverers
– Baseline and follow up GEMs to capture both small and large steps in the empowerment journey
• Many opportunities may help reduce program vulnerability and push back sustainably on closing the gap.
For more information, please contact us at Muru Marri
Website: https://sphcm.med.unsw.edu.au/content/muru-marri-redevelopment/our-research/research-projects/social-and-emotional-wellbeing
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