Groundbreaking project to end the criminal justice cycle for young people in Melbourne’s West
Westjustice and the Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) are delighted to announce the Paul Ramsay Foundation (PRF) will fund their groundbreaking TARGET ZER0 project and provide a massive boost to the collaborative effort to prevent young people from Melbourne’s West being caught up in the criminal justice system.
The $7.5m funding partnership over the next 5 years will enable a coalition to work together to support young people and their families to thrive and achieve their full potential and avoid the criminal justice system and the revolving doors of the courtroom altogether.
TARGET ZER0 brings together unique partners from different parts of the community to end the criminalisation of young people aged 10 to 25 in the Brimbank, Wyndham and Melton Local Government Areas and over-representation in the criminal justice system of First Nations young people, multicultural young people, and young people in residential care.
This funding builds on generous foundation funding from PRF and the Victorian Legal Services Board.
Legal Director of Westjustice’s Youth Law Program, Ms Anoushka Jeronimus, said that this funding is a game changer. Through Westjustice’s youth law program and partnership work, she and her team are constantly confronted with the difficult realities and complex disadvantages experienced by young people and their families within these communities – and the number of challenges they face just to stay healthy and safe.
“TARGET ZER0 partners believe that the issues affecting criminalised and over-represented western suburbs young people can only be solved by everyone working together on the root causes and critically, with the communities most impacted. In a first, TARGET ZER0 is bringing together all facets of the community to work towards ending youth criminalisation and over-representation,” Ms Jeronimus said.
Melissa Hardham, CEO of Westjustice, said Target Zero’s significant partnership with PRF was a step forward in addressing Victoria’s revolving door youth justice system for young people experiencing disadvantage.
“TARGET ZER0 is an ambitious program but its goals can now be realised through the generous support of the Paul Ramsay Foundation, who are vital partners in closing the revolving door that Victoria’s criminal justice system becomes for too many young people. Young people in Melbourne’s West should be in schools and in jobs, not jails.”
Carmel Guerra, CEO of the Centre for Multicultural Youth, echoed that sentiment.
“We know from our work with multicultural young people and communities that a new game plan is needed, to effectively tackle the criminalisation and over-representation of particular cohorts of young people in our justice system. The Paul Ramsay Foundation funding will enable TARGET ZER0 to create the meaningful change that young people need.”
For more information, please contact Anoushka Jeronimus, Director Youth Law Program Westjustice on (03) 9749 7720 or Jemal Ahmet Executive Manager – Programs and Services CMY on (03) 9340 3726.