What comes next when the Alice Springs youth curfew ends? | ABC News
3 Video Views·Mar 30, 2024
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Gloves on and knuckling up, this boxing gym is a haven for youngsters who have found purpose through their passion.
I reckon I've got a few mates that are like that, you know, they're undisciplined, but if there wasn't boxing or something like that,
if they had something to do and keep them in line, like, it'd be great, you know, for them.
The kids here know a misstep at school can mean they're not in the ring.
If I don't go to school, apparently I go to boxing, so I'm out of school every day, I just go to boxing.
R&D man Jason Lord doesn't just share a love of boxing.
He knows exactly how it feels to be young and disengaged, having spent time in juvenile detention.
At this largely volunteer-run gym, everyone is welcomed and cherished.
The caring part of it is the most important part, and I think that's what lost in this town a bit.
With a 14-day curfew in place in Alice Springs, amid a surge in crime and anti-social behaviour,
volunteers here say direct funding to places like this could be the counterpunch to Central Australia's long bout.
Parents are freaking out about, you know, what he is doing at that place, because now my kid's sleeping well,
they're putting the bin out, they're doing the homework, there's no arguments at home.
While no program is a silver bullet, Aboriginal elders here in Alice Springs say children caught in a cycle of offending deserve a chance to change.
But some who've made these calls for decades worry governments aren't interested.
Kids aren't country, not in jail. It's just fallen nippies to this government.
The Strong Grandmothers Group want the nation to see the humanity and opportunity in their young people.
Those kids are amazing, intelligent kids. They just have to be given a chance.
Miles Holbrook-Walk, ABC News, Alice Springs.