Written by Jill Fraser
When ALF legend, Jim Stynes co-founded the Reach Foundation for youth in 1994 the concept of self-esteem carried very little weight in child development circles.
In the nineties, self esteem as a quality for young people was generally spoken with one eyebrow raised by all and was viewed as something discussed in the alternative, personal development set.
But Stynes knew from experience that the key to well-adjusted, socially engaged kids lies in the power and motivation that comes from them possessing a positive feeling about themselves and their innate potential.
When he witnessed a motley group of teenagers talking passionately and emotionally to each other about their dreams and problems in a theatre-based workshop conducted by film director and drama coach, Paul Currie, he recognized that Currie had found that key. Twelve months later REACH was born, established by co-founders Stynes and Currie.
Two FORMER REACH PARTICIPANTS
Three 14 to 16 year olds, Sam Cavanagh, Jules Lund and John Moore, were participants in Reach ’s first workshop and went on to become facilitators prior to launching their own highly successful careers. All have remained friends and credit their achievements to their time at Reach.
Sam Cavanagh, producer Hamish and Andy, FOX FM
“The most annoying misconception about Reach is that it’s for troubled kids. Unfortunately the word youth has become synonymous with problems.“All kids have got issues that they’re dealing with. For some it’s about being 16, for others their parents are not getting along, for others it’s a heroin addiction.“Reach is about celebrating youth and creating a positive peer group and environment where kids can learn, be themselves and not have the sort of pressures that they encounter at school.
“I was very privileged. I had a great family life and through Reach I was able to grow up in an environment where I felt very supported and where no one would hang shit on me for wanting to be successful.
“Reach offered us new ways of thinking and constantly challenged and pushed us. It also gave us a deep understanding of inter-personal dynamics, which has been a huge advantage in the business world.”
“The kids were blown away by Paul’s techniques,” says Stynes. When the Brownlow Medallist and Victorian of the Year (2003) met Currie he was already into devising camps for kids called, Passion for Sport; Passion for Life because he realised that harnessing the passion for sport and applying it to life was part of the equation.
But it took Currie’s special brand of method acting, which taught actors that the art of evolving a character hinges on an ability to understand themselves and tap into what makes them tick, warts and all, for the penny to drop.
“He adapted that approach for the kids and when I saw his workshop I thought, this is the missing ingredient,” says Stynes.
“It was what I had been aiming for using the sport analogies and metaphors. But Paul was able to break down all the barriers that existed between the wealthy kids and the poor kids and the harder edge kids and the quieter ones and they were on a level playing field.” Stynes observed the kids dropping their barriers and releasing emotion in a safe, non-judgemental environment and practically turning cartwheels when they left and he identified with the experience.
Maintaining that the over-riding element in Reach’s success is its ability to encourage and give kids permission to tap into their “genuine voice that they have been yearning to express”, Stynes talks of his own adolescent challenges in downtown Dublin, Ireland, which he says, prompted his work with kids.
“When I was young I wanted to do two things, become a footballer and a teacher. They were my voices,” he says.
“But being a teacher wasn’t a celebrated voice in Ireland and it was bloody hard work trying to become one because you had to be good at Irish, which was a subject that I hated.” Admitting that he wasn’t a smart kid at school and struggled to keep up Stynes tells of his father sending him to youth camps that were run by a tough taskmaster who helped him find his identity.
“I was captured by his intensity and never give in attitude. He didn’t care if people thought he was crazy. His goal was to live out his dream and he went for it with such drive and passion and I really responded to that,” he says confessing that prior to attending these camps he had felt a bit of misfit.
Jules Lund, reporter, Getaway, Channel Nine
“Jim and Paul came to my school when I was 15 and we did what we did with all guest presenters, we tried to make them cry. But they weren’t going to have a bar of that.“They stood me up in front of the group and threw a few questions my way. Basically they kept asking me, who are you? I thought they were madmen.
“But then there was a moment where I went, okay these guys are talking about going after what you really want in life, and they were doing it without it sounding flowery. So I turned up for the course.“I realised that the way I was trying to get acceptance was by being really negative. Reach is a positive peer group that rewards you for thinking big whereas in school it’s quite the opposite.
“For me it was a really magical environment where as a teenager I could go in and feel that I’d left my doubts at the door and inside I could discover an uninhibited side of myself. “At the time I was studying graphic design and through Reach it became very clear that while I was doing something I loved it wasn’t my purpose because it wasn’t going to allow me to express everything I was.
“I decided I wanted to work in TV and set about making that my goal. At Reach we never wasted time wishing. We got busy designing our future. It was all about aiming high. If you knew you couldn’t fail what would you like your life to look like?
“Jim Stynes taught me how to be a TV host. From my Mum I got an emotional intelligence and psychology. Dad gave me my skylarking, cheeky, show-off, performing nature. Reach gave me the confidence to back all those qualities.”
He admits that had he not gained confidence through the camps he may have gone off the rails, despite having a good family who loved and cared deeply for him.
The confidence gave him the impetus to play sport. He came to Australia in 1984 and played his first senior game with the Melbourne Football Club in 1987.
Referring to sport as his escape he says that although he loved footie he soon realised that it didn’t fulfil him. He also needed to plan ahead to the time when he would no longer be playing.
Working with kids enabled him to combine his teaching and motivational skills.
REACH is a not-for-profit organization. Stynes and his 25 full-time staff members are paid salaries.
Stynes’ long-term aim is for all roles, including his own to be voluntary. In 2007 REACH ran 16 different programs in more than 400 locations across Australia, to nearly 60,000 young people. It visited almost 400 schools. Stynes disputes the frequently expressed opinion that kids today are more troubled than previous generations.
“Issues are more complex now but I don’t think that they’re all that different. It’s just that we are a bit more aware,” he says. “In the old days if kids were depressed we just thought they were in a bad mood or down in the dumps; we didn’t understand that depression is a treatable illness. And when kids were being abused they didn’t have a voice; they weren’t encouraged to speak up about it.”
REACH allows kids to face their fears and needs in a safe, supervised environment. Workshops are conducted by accredited facilitators, aged between 18 and 23. The youthful face of REACH is another key to its success.
Stynes remains hands on, often talking at schools around the country. His message usually revolves around “having the courage to identify and heed your voice”.
“That may sound simple and clichéd but it mans taking a risk. It’s a bit like an archaeological dig. You’ve got to keep peeling back the layers and you don’t know how deep it is and for 14 and 15 year olds that can be quite scary.”
