Fresh start for Townsville youth as program kickstarts career pathways

• Crisafulli Government is delivering a new early intervention program for Townsville to restore safety where you live. 
• Program gets at-risk youth engaged in hands-on vocational training to turn them away from crime. 
• The Crisafulli Government is investing in Gold Standard Early Intervention to stop crime before it starts and turn the tide on Labor’s Youth Crime Crisis. 
• The Crisafulli Government is making Queensland safer and delivering a fresh start for Queensland. 

The Crisafulli Government is breaking the cycle of crime and restoring safety where you live with a new Kickstarter early intervention program in Townsville.  

It is just one way the Crisafulli Government is making Queensland safer after crime skyrocketed during Labor’s decade of decline.   

Fresh Start Academy will support at-risk youth aged 10 to 17 years old across Townsville with their hands-on Kickstarter barbering program that puts youth on a path away from crime and towards education, training or a job. 

Participants will undertake a 20-week program that provides tailored mentoring, educational workshops and accredited training, including barbering, first aid, RSA and barista courses.  

The program is funded under the Crisafulli Government’s Kickstarter early intervention grants and helps make Townsville safer by intervening early before youth become entrenched in a life of crime.   

Kickstarter funds early intervention programs for at-risk youth showing early signs of criminal behaviour to re-engage them with education, employment and the community.    

Labor’s weak laws, fewer police and failure to invest in early intervention created a generation of serious repeat youth offenders and Queensland’s Youth Crime Crisis.  

The Crisafulli Government is restoring safety where you live with stronger laws, more police, and the biggest investment in rehabilitation and early intervention in Queensland’s history.   

Minister for Youth Justice and Victim Support Laura Gerber said early intervention was vital to making Queensland safer and reducing victims of crime.    

“Acting early to address the first signs of disengagement, anti-social or criminal behaviour is critical to breaking the cycle of crime and putting youth back on the right track,” Minister Gerber said.  

“We are investing in early intervention because we know it’s an important step to prevent youth from choosing a life of crime.  

“This program uses training and skills to support youth to find a positive future through education and prevent offending before it occurs.”  

Member for Townsville Adam Baillie said the Kickstarter program gave at-risk youth a pathway out of crime and towards a brighter future. 

“This program uses education and training to make a real difference and gives youth practical skills that will help them gain employment and become productive members of the community,” Mr Baillie said.