WELCOME TO DEEP BLUE LINE
Deep Blue Line is a program that will be run by the PCYC Edmonton branch during term 2 of the 2016 school year. Deep Blue Line is a gender based program of up to 10 young people, running for 10 weeks ending with a “man camp”. The participantswill be involved in a variety of positive life experiences from watching a sporting game (Cairns Taipans), physical activities (low ropes) to in-depth discussions revolving around there physical and mental health.
Deep Blue line is aprimary crime intervention program that is based around enhancing young people’s positive sense of self, boosting self-esteem, providing participants with life experiences, encourage goal setting behaviours and to expose the participants to healthy role models. The program is based on young people between the ages of 13-17; we will take into account that the developmental age of a 13 year is different to a 17 year old and as thus try to keep with-in a certain age group (between 1-2 years age difference) between all the participants. The overallprogram will have a theme e.g. the outdoors and the weekly sessions will utilise the theme as a vehicle for developing life-skills based sessions and interactions with mentor based around the key learning areas of communication, well-being and positive futures.
The group meets once a week, after school, depending on the particular session for 2 and half hours. We chose Thursday nights (this may change) as our session days to address a local crime issue of young people hanging around at local shops. Weekly sessions will be a combination of in-branch sessions and excursions. Some experiences will only be done at specialised venues (E.g. Attending a Cairns Taipan game). Near the end of the program a camp will be held at Northern Outlook, Redlynch. The camp will be 2 nights, 3 day camp during which participants and facilitators will camp, cook and engage in adventure-based activities.
COMMUNICATION
Deep Blue Line aims at fostering young people’s confidence in communicating with a wide variety of community leaders from sporting heroes, water police, health providers and the Queensland Police. Through practical experiences, participants in the program will engage in positive exchanges with peers, QPS and community mentors which in turn lead to a boost in confidence in their ability to make good choices, articulate themselves and to set their own goals. Establishing strong communication skills is one of the key factors in reducing the risk of involvement of criminal activity for young people. Young people who have a functional level of communication are better able to express themselves in a healthiermanner; they can manage their emotions better and make better decisions regarding their life and their goals. Good communication is an integral part of a young person journey from adolesces to adulthood. Participants will gain the skills to navigate their way into the job market, staying at school or continuing their studies through a different avenue through effective communication.
WELLBEING
Personal wellbeing can sometimes be one of the only areas that a young person can take an active step of control.Establishing a vision for personal wellbeing can be a difficult step to take; Young people have gone from relying on their parents/guardians for their lifestyle and up bringing to becoming independent. They may find competing priorities such as school, work, study and social life may become overlapped and difficult to manage. Our aim of this program is to help them understand what is a priority in making good life choices (e.g. staying at school to get a better education). DEEP BLUE LINE encourages young people to examine their own personal wellbeing froma physical, social and emotional perspective and to encourage themselves to think of self-managing strategies that will lead them towards their ideal self. DEEP BLUE LINE promotes reflection for young people on their most important relationships with others. Participants will explore the dimensions of healthy relationships, the facets of positive vs. negative interactions and the connection between their social presence and the feeling of wellbeing.
POSITIVE FUTURE
It is hoped that by providing diverse experiences to participants they become aware of the impact their decisions make to their positive future self. Over the course of the program, participants will engage with many confident and successful mentors who share not only their field of expertise, but also witness the subtle portrayal of the attitudes required to achieve one’s personal and professional goals. Young adults who experience positive role modelling, especially those at-risk, are more likely to report engaging and beneficial activities then those without positive mentors.
OUTCOMES
Studies that were conducted by previous participants, completing Deep Blue Line, reported an increase in the understanding of social and emotional well-being. They also have experienced an increased sense of respect for themselves and for others. Participants also displayed a decrease in negative risk-taking and anti-social behaviours, drug and alcohol misuse, disengagement with school and family and an overall decreased in crime rate in the area where the program was delivered. Participants were given surveys before the program started and when it was completed, parents were also given questionnaires that were completed.Participants gain an increase in knowledge of practical skills such as day to day living skills, goal setting, communication, relationships, health, sexual health and well-being.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
Participants will be referred andthen invited to attend Deep Blue Line thru their schools via the school guidance councillor, PLO or principal. Participants will be required to sign a working agreement; this is so they understand what is involved, what they can except from the program and what they want to get out of it. Participants will be required to attend every week; there may be some scope to pick participants up who live some distance from the branch. The participants will be given a weekly schedule and be encouraged to participant in all activities from planning weekly menus to discussions. All appropriate forms will be completed by both participants and their parents/guardians. There will be no more than 10 participants with a maximum of three facilitators per session. The participants will be selected with strict criteria, those that are just starting to disengage in school and family, just starting to get the attention of the police liaison officer or the police will be encouraged to attend.