17/07/2026
Here is a case study from one of our young men, who turned himself around.
Joe came to us from a notorious family, father in prison, mother always in the paper for criminal behaviour and siblings causing havoc in our small communities, we were unsure if we could help him. He had been in a lot of trouble since the age of 12, fighting, threatening members of the public and drug use, this young man would be a handful, but we decided to give him the opportunity to turn his life around, everyone deserves a chance.
He came to the hostel hyped up, the big man, he was loud, obnoxious and every other word was cursing, we didn’t think he would be with us for long.
We went through the house rules slowly and made sure he understood them, he agreed he understood, and we started from scratch, no swearing, no bravado everyone is treated with respect, he nodded.
The first week was a constant battle, pulling him for swearing which he apologised as soon he did it, we made sure he had showered as he forgot, he was kept on a very tight leash, and it seemed to work. He had court dates for his previous offences, and we went into detail about what may happen and how he should be respectful and listen to his parole officer and the courts. It was apparent Joe hadn’t been shown many life skills; he didn’t know how to change his bedding or how to cook and clean dishes. He would ask the support staff how to do most things, he felt comfortable asking for the help he needed to follow the rules, which is a good sign of change.
He started to become very likeable, he was a what you see is what you get young man, he never lied, he told us if he had broken a rule, he came back bang on curfew and he was asking every day, what do I need to do today…most of the time it was clean your room and get a shower and he did it without complaint.
He spoke freely in support sessions about how he has never had rules or structure, he was never held accountable for anything, he actually said he enjoyed the rules and that support staff would correct him, he said it felt like somebody “actually give a s**t about me” heart-breaking, this young man just needed a chance and some patience, he wanted to do the right thing, he wanted to be good, he was just never shown how to be that person.
Unfortunately, because of his previous offence Joe was sentenced to prison time. He left us on that day going to court positive and looking smart and reiterating to himself that he needs to listen and be polite.
We have seen Joe since his release a few years ago and we are so proud of the man he has become, he is working and has his own place, he has never been in trouble with the police since and has a positive outlook, he told us we were the “kick up the arse he needed, it felt nice that someone cared about me, it was easy to be bad because that’s what everyone expected me to be, but I wanna have a good life”
We do hope he and others in similar situations are reading this and know that you are worth so much more than your past, good people with rough starts, but with the right support can change the narrative, you can have the happy ending you deserve. 🩵
