LyriK

Overview

The Youth Incentive Program was established in 2006 to ensure that young people in Kwinana between the ages of 10-14 were recognised for the valuable contribution they make to the Kwinana community. The program rewards a range of initiatives including high academic achievement, positive participation in community events, sports clubs and services groups as well as just having a go! In order to achieve this, the following objectives have been identified:

Objective 1. Recognise and reward young people for the good things they do to help improve their self-confidence and ability to become important members of the Kwinana community.

Objective 2. Provide continuous development opportunities for young people, helping them to move into the next phase of their lives with more personal skills and community contacts.

Objective 3. Create high impact stories that focus on young people’s positive contributions in the Town of Kwinana to change public perceptions regarding youth and to highlight the benefits of growing up in Kwinana.

The LyriK program sits within Kwinana Youth Service, which provides increased and immediate access to the target group through established relationships with current programs. The Youth Service provides access to a vast amount of local knowledge and an extensive support network for the program.

During the development of the LyriK program the broad age range of Kwinana’s Youth Service (12 - 17 years old) was modified for the LyriK program to 10 – 14 years to maximise resources. Additionally, young people living in Kwinana from Year 5 (Primary School) to Year 10 (Secondary school) were identified as being at an increased risk of dropping out of sports and community based activities during the transition period from primary school to high school. The need to support and connect with young people at an earlier age in order to encourage their participation and continued motivation for education, sport and community activities was identified as the rational to lower the age criteria.

It became evident, following the implementation of the LyriK program, that the age restriction produced an unnecessary obstacle. Therefore, in 2008 and after consultation, the reference group took the decision to expand the age range to between 10 – 15years. This conservative approach was taken in order to minimise the dilution of the LyriK program and will be monitored closely.

LyriK Model

Nominating a young person for a youth incentive is an opportunity to highlight their strengths and contribution whilst providing the young person with the motivation to continue achieving their goals and making a difference. To ensure that nominating is easy for you, nominations may be received by filling in the nomination form or by phoning the Project Coordinator directly to lodge your nomination.