The City of Geraldton-Greenough in the midwest region of Western Australia is engaging young people and diverting them from potentially dangerous situations through its Midnight Basketball program.
Officially launched in 2008 in response to antisocial behaviour in and around the Geraldton CBD, the program saw a 30 per cent drop in this conduct while sessions were running last year.
Council took out the Strengthening Indigenous Communities category at the recent National Awards for Local Government for the program.
The City has a relatively high percentage of Indigenous people, making up around 10 per cent of its population. About 51 per cent of this group are below the age of 19.
Although Midnight Basketball does not exclusively target Indigenous youth, they make up about 85 per cent of the total number of participants.
Council’s Youth Development and Outreach Officer, Filip Hansen, said Midnight Basketball engages young people by providing a program that is safe, fun and educational.
“Keeping youth out of trouble and away from harmful situations is on the top of the priority list, but it is equally important to teach them how to better reach their full potential,” he said.
“This is achieved through workshops conducted on the night.
“Topics addressed in the workshops range from sexual health to financial literacy and problem solving.”
Midnight Basketball is constructed around the philosophy, ‘no workshop no jumpshot’.
This means the young people can only participate in the basketball games if they attend the workshops beforehand.
“Many players return week after week, indicating that they enjoy the workshop sessions,” Filip Hansen said. “They also regularly demonstrate that they have retained knowledge from previous weeks.”
Midnight Basketball is run from 6pm every Friday night during the school term and goes for several hours depending on the turnout.
The program is open to all young people, but is mainly targeting 12 to 17 year olds.
“By the end of last year’s season, approximately 60 to 80 young people were attending each session,” Filip Hansen said.
“With the new season having just commenced, these figures are down a little, but we are confident they will improve once word is out that we are up and running again.
“It is also promising and exciting to see that we have 20 new players this year.”
Filip Hansen said that although local youth groups, church groups and cadets run various programs on a Friday night, there is nothing held on a consistent basis.
“Council is looking to implement further recreational activities to complement
Midnight Basketball in the future, with the
aim of engaging more young people and
further curbing antisocial behaviour,” he said.
For further information contact Filip Hansen on (08) 9921 0502.
