Aspire success continues to impress

The Salvation Army’s Aspire programme is into its second year, and despite slimming down in numbers, leaders, students and parents say positive results from last year are continuing.  

The Aspire programme supports teens aged 11 to 16 years at risk of poverty and social exclusion, with strained school involvement or a lack of engagement in positive social groups, and their families. More than 530 young people in 32 centres took part last year.

The Warehouse Group funded 100 per cent of the programme last year as its charity of the year. While there was less funding this year Warehouse Stationery and The Salvation Army have supported the programme for 250 young people and 22 Aspire groups in 20 locations.

Linwood Corps’ Children’s Ministry coordinator Hayden Mundy says excitement from schools after last year saw them expand this year from six to eight Aspire groups in the East of Christchurch. ‘The schools have loved the Aspire programme. We had one school that didn’t take it last year, but they were the first in this year asking to take part.’

The programme runs in four sections, with groups meeting weekly to work through a work book and activities based on the Circle of Courage model, which identifies four key development areas for teens: the need for connectedness, the need to achieve, the need for responsibility and independence, and the need for purpose and generosity. They also do a three-day outdoor adventure camp and come up with a project to support their community.

Upper Hutt Corps youth worker Scott Keane, who runs Aspire at Upper Hutt College, says the positivity from their group last year had encouraged more people to sign up this year. Last year, nine of the 12 boys they invited, joined up. They expected the same this year, but instead only one student who was invited decided not to join and the group has been very committed.

Schools help identify who would benefit most from the course, and Scott says his group is a mix of students—some from a background of serious, complex social needs, some who are struggling but have leadership potential, and others needing help academically. The mix helps the group engage with people they often wouldn’t otherwise and to learn from each other. The support from the group helped one boy get over anger and trust issues he had from being badly bullied. Others found connections that encouraged them to stay in school, Scott says.

‘One boy, the school weren’t sure they were going to see him much last year—there was potential for him to drop out. But he was really committed to Aspire and they credit Aspire with him staying at school last year. This year, he’s had his ups and downs, but he’s sticking it out and we keep in touch.’

Among the Linwood Corps Aspire members, many had issues with truancy, Hayden says, but they’ve only had one person miss a team meeting all year and that was for a good reason.

‘Last year, we had one girl who was disengaged, causing huge issues in the classroom. At the beginning she was sitting out on the edge of the [Aspire] group. At the end she was all in, and the school was talking about how she was different in class.’

Many in the group develop strong bonds with their leaders, and in a survey of last year’s Aspire members 91 per cent said they felt their leader was someone they could trust. It’s a result Hayden’s seen again this year. Such as one student who was struggling and isolated from her friends and family.

‘She’s had a huge connection with our youth worker. They’ve started some mentoring and she’s saying, “You’re the person that I can trust most in my life. I feel able to be open and talk to you.” We’re now looking at how we can build strong connections with family, friends and community.’

At Albany Bay Corps, Children’s Ministries coordinator Olivia Huszack says the combination of group support, Aspire lessons and hard work from leaders helped one teen who was self-harming and suicidal to recover. She has returned to being an assured and happy young woman who loves volunteering at a primary school class the corps helps run.

‘She started coming to our youth group this year and to see the difference is incredible. She knows who she is and how much God loves her. She got that just from how we loved her.’

Many of the Aspire lessons focus on team work and leadership, with games and skills, but team members also work hard on applying lessons to their everyday lives. ‘They set challenges for themselves through the week based on what they’ve learnt. If they can’t see how it relates to school and to home then we have a nice group and it makes no difference,’ Hayden says. 

All the leaders say the outdoor experience was a powerful time that helped their young people bond into a strong close-knit group, who invariably surprised and inspired their leaders with the way they supported and encouraged others through activities like caving, abseiling and rock climbing.

Providing a place to belong was also key thing for their young people, Olivia says, and many had carried on to join the corps’ community youth group.

‘The kids who have come to youth group really feel like they belong to this place. They feel really comfortable with the leaders. They’re opening up and sharing a lot more because we’ve built that relationship and they know we’re not just here for the year, we’re here for the long-term.’

An end-of-year survey showed Aspire’s community project helped young people grow in confidence and self-worth. Ideas ranged from one Linwood group starting an anti-bullying campaign at school by making a song and video, to the Upper Hutt High teens fundraising for the corps’ Community Ministries work.

For their community task, the Albany Bays teams fundraised to kit out 40 backpacks full of items for homeless teens, supported by a major discount from The Warehouse. They donated the backpacks to Youthline. ‘When they were putting them together, they were really thinking about who the bags were going to. I spoke with Youthline and they said they’ve given out almost all of them and they’re being used,’ Olivia says.

Aspire is also about developing relationships with families. So, the groups run family events such as community meals and movie nights. At Albany Bays, Aspire groups meet at the corps and the leaders make sure they take time to speak to parents when they drop their children off at the group, Olivia says.

‘Parents are sharing a lot more about what’s going on in their children’s lives and their own lives. We ask if there’s anything else we can do for them. A couple of kids we know have been struggling, and one family has used our food bank and Community Ministries services.’

The end-of-year Aspire graduation celebration was also a good time to bring families together, with each young person celebrated, with positive stories about them and what they had learnt. This also provided Linwood with one of its highlights of the year last year, Hayden says, when an Aspire parent and school teacher interrupted his thank-you to the families to thank the Aspire leaders after seeing the impact on her son and others at school.

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by Robin Raymond (c) 'War Cry' magazine, 23 July 2016, pp 18-19
You can read 'War Cry' at your nearest Salvation Army church or centre, or subscribe through Salvationist Resources.