Muslim youth workers in Sydney are beating street-level radical
preachers at their own game, severing their insidious influence on
vulnerable teens.
In just 12 months the team, hired by
Father Chris Riley’s Youth Off The Streets, has guided dozens of
impressionable young men away from extremist corruption by taking to the
streets themselves.
And the counteroffensive could have driven most Islamic hate preachers from hotbed suburbs, like Bankstown.
At
the official opening of a new out outreach centre in Bankstown’s CBD on
Friday, lead Muslim youth worker Amirah Amin said the predatory groups
were “rarely” seen anymore.
“I think it’s a direct result of the work we’ve been doing,” she told
The Express.
“We’ve
been working really closely with police as well, identifying the hot
spots (and) making sure those areas are more regularly patrolled.” Ms
Amin, 28, and another local Muslim social worker were hand-picked by
Father Riley to identify and help vulnerable, isolated or disadvantaged
boys and girls in March 2015.
The specialist team now has four full-timers and a caseload of about 60 youth across Sydney.
Fr Riley, the founder and chief executive of YOTS, told
The Express employing professional social workers from within the Islamic community was “very valuable”.
“It’s
very important that we build a connection with Muslim young people in
particular. I’ve always said they are everyone’s responsibility,” he
said.
The idea grew from the success of similar programs in indigenous communities.
“The
kids know these people already, so it’s not like we are bringing people
from the outside, it’s using people from our own communities and that’s
where we find it’s successful,” Fr Riley said.
In December,
The Express revealed
police and school authorities had worked for a year to deradicalise a
15-year-old Georges Hall boy, arrested during anti-terror raids.
Ms
Amin said the teen, who was a talented junior sports star before being
allegedly radicalised, was the type of person the team aimed to pull out
of extremists’ clutches.
She said starting the conversation was often intimidating, but engaging a young person on their level was critical.
Premier Mike Baird opened the purpose-built outreach centre on Friday, which relocated from a smaller office in December.
Speaking exclusively to
The Express, Mr Baird said Muslim youth workers were “incredibly important”.
“It’s quite clear (for) all our youth, whatever their backgrounds ... the more support we provide the better,” he said.
When
asked whether there needed to be a stronger focus on grass root
programs over policing Mr Baird said: “In terms of the whole program,
it’s multifaceted. Of course you need policing, but obviously you need
programs such as this (as well).”
Youth Off the Street supports all youth, aged 12-25, doing it tough.
To find out more visit
youthoffthestreets.com.au
