Eagles RAPS
Dedicated to the prevention of youth suicide through the education of vulnerable young people in Blacktown, NSW.
Eagles RAPS is committed to preventing youth suicide of vulnerable young people in Blacktown, NSW, through the provision of education, so they can develop resilience in the face of life's challenges. They work with a variety of young people who have quite often endured harsh life experiences so unfathomable their mere desire to succeed is inspiration in itself.
2017 Pitch
Funds raised: $30,710
Eagles RAPS sought funding at TFN Sydney in September 2017 to support an education program for vulnerable young people who have all come to a point where they are unable to attend mainstream schooling for various reasons. For many, Eagles RAPS has been their only chance of education and an opportunity to gain skills needed to succeed in life. All young people are individually case-managed to address barriers and issues in their lives and are supported by qualified staff and volunteers.
The impact...
Suicide is the leading cause of death amongst young people in Australia and is often referred to as the ‘silent epidemic’. Eagles RAPS was founded to combat this troubling statistic and provide safety and guidance to the young people of Doonside. They established a drop-in centre where young people who have left mainstream schooling – for whatever reason – had somewhere to go to complete their schooling, access counselling and find employment or safe accommodation.
Eagles RAPS' newest venture (and pitch) came from concern for the young mothers they were supporting, who were reporting issues of stigma and discrimination when accessing childcare. So Eagles RAPS decided to start up a day-care centre of their own. Not only will it allow these women to access affordable childcare, it will also provide training opportunities and allows Eagles RAPS to work with the young family as a whole whilst becoming self-sustainable.
Becoming sustainable is a difficult task for any charity, especially one that works in the parts of the western suburbs where the average wage is below the national average and the unemployment rate is also higher.
Since the event, preparations are well underway for the construction of the venture and Eagles RAPS have made massive strides in the planning of the day care centre.
“The impact of the funding from TFN has been enormous. We have been able to ensure that we have policies and procedures and other compliance requirements in place when the centre opens, and recently we used a portion of it to pay for registration as a Registered Training Organisation, which will in the near future enable us to receive government subsidies for the courses that we put the young people through and this will contribute further income to the establishment of the child care centre as well as reduce our costs in that we will not be paying third party enrolment fees for our students” – Marten Wynd, President
Read their Impact Report
Learn more about Eagles RAPS.
Supporting Sustainable Development Goals:
