Six community programmes will share $2.4 million in new funding to use sport, recreation and physical activity to help children and young people considered at risk of offending or reoffending.
Sport and Recreation Minister Mark Mitchell announced the investment as the second wave of funding under Sport New Zealand’s Reducing Child and Youth Offending Project.
The latest allocation follows $2.2 million provided to five community organisations around New Zealand in June.
The Sport NZ-led initiative is designed to explore and strengthen the role sport and physical activity can play in supporting young people facing risk factors associated with offending and helping prevent their entry or return to the youth justice system.
“This initiative improves outcomes for children and young people and contributes to the Government’s target of reducing youth offending by 2030,” Mitchell said.
“It is about backing community led solutions and giving young people positive pathways which help prevent them from entering or re-entering the youth justice system.”
The programme involves collaboration with whānau and communities as well as agencies including NZ Police, the Department of Corrections and Oranga Tamariki.
Mitchell said funding was being directed towards organisations with established community relationships and experience working with young people.
“We are investing in trusted community organisations with proven capability and strong local connections to support children and young people through the positive vehicle of physical activity and sport,” he said.
The six organisations selected for the second funding wave will provide a range of programmes combining physical activity with mentoring, education, cultural development and other support.
Bay of Plenty Youth Development Trust will deliver Te Aranui Rangatahi Pathways, incorporating activities such as Ki o Rahi, mau rākau, boxing, fitness, tramping, kayaking, abseiling, bushcraft and marine activities alongside cultural connection and education.
Bay of Plenty-based Youth Encounter will work with young people aged 10 to 18 through its Live Life Wide Open programme, combining activities including dirt biking and surfing with mentoring, therapy and leadership development.
In Wellington, Ignite Sport will deliver its Oho Ake programme to small groups of rangatahi across the Hutt Valley, using sport, recreation and mentoring to develop confidence, relationships and life skills.
Whenua Iti Outdoors will establish Kawatiri Active Futures in the Tasman and West Coast region. The two-year initiative will work with children aged 10 to 12 in Kawatiri/Buller through outdoor recreation, mentoring and whānau involvement.
Ngāpuhi Iwi Social Services will establish Ngā Pūmanawa o Tū for young people aged 10 to 18 in Te Tai Tokerau, providing culturally grounded pathways into sport, recreation and community activities.
The Meke Academy in Hawke’s Bay will support rangatahi aged 12 to 18 through a kaupapa Māori, sport-focused education programme combining daily physical activity, mentoring, cultural identity development and Te Kura learning.
A total of $8 million is expected to be distributed over four funding waves through Community Impact Investment as part of the Reducing Child and Youth Offending Project.
Image credit: Md Mahdi
2.4 million is a drop in the piss pot
Are these people serious?
Or to be taken seriously?
Seriously