ABC New England North We= st=20 NSW =BB Features = =BB Midnight basketball

=20

Basketball h= oops will=20 be getting a nightime workout under the new midnight basketbal= l=20 program | Caitl= in=20 Furlong

Midnight basketball

Last Update:= =20 Tuesday, April 1, 2008. 12:27pm AEST

By Jennifer Ingall

How often have we heard it said that bo= redom=20 among young people leads to crimes, drugs and anti social=20 behaviour?

That's certainly the case in Armidale, = and=20 youth worker Bernie Shakeshaft sees it regularly.

"There's no doubt there's a need there.= We can=20 see up to 140 kids on the streets at night, they go through to= well=20 after midnight," he says.

Now with the Federal government also pu= tting=20 the spotlight on binge drinking, organisations that work with = young=20 people are looking for solutions more than ever before.

"It's pretty important we have some alt= ernative=20 activities to hanging around on the streets," says Bernie.

Bring on the basketball.

Running basketball programs in the even= ing and=20 up until midnight has been trialled in the US, the UK, Sydney = and=20 even Orange in the State's Central West. The success of those= =20 programs has captured the imaginations of the Armidale Eastern= =20 Access Community Health program, and as part of that a coordin= ator=20 has been appointed, and the program will kick off next term.

In Orange, Midnight Basketball ran for = 9 weeks=20 last year in partnership with the Department of Housing.

National Coordinator Sue Hogan says 60 = young=20 people enrolled in the program. She says the majority of the y= outh=20 involved were aged between 12 and 15 years old, and it was not= just=20 for kids at risk, but the community as well.

People eligible for the program were ta= rgeted=20 through the Department of Housing, which had experienced probl= ems in=20 large housing estates, police youth workers and indigenous you= th=20 workers, and local schools.

Unfortunately Ms Hogan says the program= won't=20 run again this year until fourth term because the Anzac Stadiu= m is=20 closed for renovations. However she says testimonials from you= ng=20 people who took part, speak volumes for the program, and she's= eager=20 to get it running again.

In an evaluation survey Ms Hogan says m= ore than=20 80 percent of the kids say what they like about the program is= =20 having something to do.

Testimonial 1.
"fully sick

Testimonial 2.
"Free feed, workshop,= =20 basketball games, good people."

Testimonial 3.
"It's mad bro, it kee= ps you=20 out of trouble."

Back in Armidale, Bernie Shakeshaft wan= ts to=20 kick off the basketball program after the school holidays at t= he=20 University of New England sporting complex. But it's more than= just=20 a game.

"It's a series of life skills workshops= , the=20 kids play basketball and night, they get fed and dropped home,= " he=20 says.

The program has a slogan of 'no worksho= p, no=20 jump shot,' to make sure those life skills are an important pa= rt of=20 the evening, and those include financial literacy. Participant= s will=20 learn about mobile phone plans, saving money and budgeting,=20 something a lot of us would probably find valuable.

Other workshops will target safe drinki= ng=20 messages, and strategies for getting a job.

Making sure the right people fill the p= rogram=20 will be a challenge, Bernie says like Orange, there will be 60= =20 places, and schools will be approached to help identify kids i= n=20 need, as well as local youth workers.

"From my experience as a youth worker, = once you=20 put something on that's fun, there's lots of things kids do pl= ay,=20 including basketball, and it's been shown to work in other tow= ns, "=20 he explains.

"If there's an alternative to doing not= hing or=20 hanging around on the streets, kid's will take it," he adds.

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