Logan YMCA formally known locally as ‘The Shed’ has provided opportunities for ‘at risk’ and marginalised youth since 2004. Programs including U-Turn, Connections and other youth orientated programs were aimed at diverting young people from the criminal justice system. Although this aim remains as important today as it did then Logan YMCA has the added advantage of teaming with the YMCA Vocational School to provide vocational training and education to a much broader community base. Automotive remains an integral part of the programs offered along with children services and personal development which include literacy, numeracy and work preparation.

Increasing numbers of migrants and New Australians are accessing the free programs offered by Logan YMCA  these programs assist with finding employment and offer post course support to participants for up to six months after completion of their qualification. Qualified training staff with industry experience and qualifications are sourced to deliver the programs.

Logan YMCA with the assistance of dedicated volunteers aim to support, encourage and train ‘at risk’ and marginalised young people who are confronted daily with problems relating to homelessness, poverty, disability and distress. Ultimately, the aim is to break the cycle of disadvantage by showing the young people that there are opportunities and experiences that differ from those that they are accustomed to in their existing life situations.

• On average, 30 young people are expelled or excluded from school each week in Logan.
• Kingston and Woodridge have some of the highest youth unemployment levels in Australia.
• Logan experiences higher than average levels of public housing, welfare dependency, and rental accommodation.
• 31.2% of families in Logan live below the poverty line.
• Logan’s recorded crime rates vary between suburbs, but are on average up to double the Queensland average for many categories of crime including youth crime.
• Over 60 percent of Logan’s suburbs recorded higher than average national levels of disadvantage, in particular the regions of Kingston, Woodridge and Waterford West.
• Logan has a significantly higher than state average rate of single parent families, with just under one in four families (23.3%) headed by a sole parent.
• Low income earners (those earning less than $200 a week) account for 28.4 percent of Logan’s population.

Our objectives

• To provide opportunities for ‘at risk’ and marginalized young people through educational and skill building activities that aim to alleviate circumstantial poverty and entrenched disadvantaged thinking – hence breaking the cycle of disadvantage.
• To provide accredited and non-accredited training options for young people participating in activities at Logan YMCA
• To provide education, training and long-term employment pathways for Shed participants by way of partnerships with relevant key agencies.
• The ultimate aim is to show these young people that other pathways exist beyond those that they and their family might be accustomed to.

The strategies

1. Develop and implement a program of activities that aim to build self esteem, employability skills, self awareness and confidence for young people.
2. Build pathways leading to long-term employment for marginalized youth, thereby potentially leading them away from lives of poverty and distress.
3. Develop working relationships with key youth agencies / Job network providers / industry stakeholders / State, Local and Federal Government departments.
4. Develop a marketing strategy to encourage volunteer participation at Logan YMCA
5. Employ a part-time volunteer coordinator to strategically market to, recruit and train volunteers.