Welcome to Australia’s Original Boys’ Town Engadine
Boys' Town is very pleased to announce that we are establishing a new residential program for girls and their families.
This is an exciting and important development for Boys' Town, which until now has worked with girls only through the HART day program.
The unit is scheduled to open in August 2010, marking the beginning of a new era of service delivery for Boys' Town, one of sydney's longest standing and most respected charities.
- Listen to what your child says.
- Talk and problem solve together.
- Allow mistakes, especially your own, but theirs too.
- Have clear and high behaviour expectations.
- Be consistent in applying consequences.
- Maintain boundaries and routines but allow some choices within.
- Talk about a crisis afterwards, when there is calm.
- Know your own buttons and pick your battles.
- Never ask a child to do what you are not prepared to do.
- See the joy and positives in your child and tell them often.
At Boys’ Town, Engadine, families in crisis receive special attention so that they can remain intact and deal with difficult issues.
Many families get help through Boys’ Town’s intensive residential program that lasts for 6-12 months. Students return home on weekends to practice the things they have learned. The main carers attend counselling sessions every two weeks and each family establishes a set of goals they wish to achieve.
Boys' Town also runs a non residential day program, the HART program. Similar to the residential units, the HART unit also helps young people to address their issues while providing educational services.
As an agency Boys’ Town incorporates therapy, education and family support with an end goal of Family Preservation and Restoration wherever possible.
The Salesian “Preventive System” lies at the heart of Boys’ Town, influencing, animating and directing all interactions with the boys and girls.
Boys’ Town is also registered as a Year 7-10 school and so children whose experience of mainstream schooling has been unsatisfactory get a chance to learn in a supportive atmosphere.
The Salesian model of Behaviour Management Intervention is inspired by the work of Don Bosco with Italian street kids and was given a local focus by Fr Tom Dunlea with Australian children.
It is built upon a platform of eight planks – presence, preventive, plan, professional, positive, personal, parental involvement and play. It is based on a fundamental belief and hope in the ability of all young people to change.
One aspect of each student’s plan is the transition back to the societal mainstream.
Included too is the provision of opportunities for individual teachers and school staff to improve behavioural management practice through professional development experiences developed by Boys’ Town.
In addition to its core Family Preservation and Restoration residential program for troubled young people, Boys’ Town in currently working on a number of other projects to respond to the needs of young people. Currently 200 000 Australian teenagers are not in education or work. There is an urgent need to support these young people, many of whom are in crisis.