Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth – P.A.R.T.Y

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:09:31) — I would like to join many others in wishing all the staff and my colleagues here today a very merry Christmas and a great summer break. I am sure many of us need it.

No doubt we have all been attending a range of Christmas and end-of-year functions over the past few weeks. Last week I went to a party of a very different kind at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. P.A.R.T.Y. stands for Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth. It is an innovative program established to reduce youth offending. It is designed to show youth, particularly those involved in the criminal justice system but also senior school groups, honestly and explicitly how trauma-related incidents affect people’s lives. Seeing people in the intensive care unit (ICU) and talking to people in the trauma unit certainly had an effect on the young people I joined.

The two-day program takes 30 young participants involved in the criminal justice system through the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where they meet patients and families in the ICU and trauma unit, listen to presentations from police, surgeons, nurses and emergency service personnel, and actively participate in trauma-related activities within the hospital environment. I would like to especially mention Sergeant Rob Dampier from the Brimbank proactive policing unit and Kate Roberts from the Royal Melbourne Hospital, who coordinate the program. Their enthusiasm and passion has kept it going for the past six years.

This program has been shown to be very successful and cost-effective. It has reduced injury and recidivism amongst those ordered by the court to attend by a remarkable 86 per cent. The program includes an intensive psychosocial assessment so that the needs of each young person can be addressed. I hope that the government will continue to throw their support behind this program. This is one of a number of youth-related, evidence-based diversion programs that Victoria Police are engaged in currently, and I really congratulate them on their forward thinking and strong focus and on reducing recidivism in this space.