BoysTown Social Enterprise

Who is BoysTown? What do we do?

• BoysTown is a national youth welfare organisation and registered charity with over 50 years of experience in helping marginalised young people to improve their quality of life.

• We are currently the largest not-for-profit provider of youth services in Australia, employing over 500 staff across four states and delivering services for up to 300,000 young people every year.

• BoysTown operates the national Kids Helpline service, Parentline, parenting programs and family refuges.

• We also deliver a wide range of personal development and support programs, school-to-work transition and work preparation programs and youth-specialist employment services in what have been identified as some of the most disadvantaged communities in Australia.

Purpose

Provide real paid jobs to young people with little or no work history.

We teach them how to work in a ‘real work setting’

Western Sydney Client Profile

Welfare or unstable financial support 85% reliant on Government support payments

Limited work history 83% had never worked full-time 45% grew up in homes where parents did not work

Long-term unemployment 11 months average time spent in unemployment

24% in long-term or very long-term unemployment

Low levels of formal education 42% dropped out of school before completing Year 10

Lack of stable or secure accommodation 6% in supported or unstable accommodation 94% in public housing

Purpose

Our Social Enterprise is transitional not a destination.

Its real work in a paid work setting used as a process of change for young people

What do we do?

Range of enterprise programs in Sydney include:

Landscaping

Tree planting

Bush Regeneration

Graffiti Removal

Maintenance projects

Licensed Builders in 3 States

Why use BoysTown Enterprises?

• Demonstrated that we can provide quality services at comparable rates with no additional exposure to risk of service delivery failure.

• It relates to the concept of corporate social responsibility, in that undertaking social procurement demonstrates an organisation's commitment to 'give back' to the local community.

• Using social enterprises can also contribute to achievement of corporate targets in areas such as providing entry level jobs for local young people or Indigenous recruitment, training and employment.

• Broader social and economic benefits for the local community. Australian and international research has demonstrated that the benefits of social procurement include: reduced unemployment among disadvantaged groups; decreased welfare dependency; the provision of a training ground for local industry; reduced crime and anti-social behaviour, and a flow-on impact on community health and wellbeing.

Horticulture Program-Housing NSW

Graduation Day- Young People receiving their TAFE certificate

Employment and Education Outcomes

For Western Sydney participants:

74% obtained positive employment, training or education outcomes

58% gained full-time employment

10% re-engaged with education or training

6% gained part-time employment

Of the participants who obtained an outcome:

91% remained in their outcome for at least 13 weeks

84% remained in their outcome for at least 26 weeks

What the young people say…

“I’ve learnt how to build fencesand I’ve learnt how to control myself when other people give you crap. So now I’ve learnt how to be calm and ignore them people.”

What the young people say…

“It’s good, they change lives, they turned me around… Because

before I came here I was starting to fall down the wrong path but when I came here I changed. I’m a better person now.”

What the young people say…

THANK YOU