Description
In February 2000 Reach announced that it wanted to establish a multipurpose life skills centre, known as The Dream Factory. The aim of this centre is to promote the greater communication and empowerment of young people by providing an environment that is interactive and raw, in which young people can truly express themselves.
This dream has become a reality thanks to the generosity of Geoff and Sue Harris c/o the Harris Family Foundation, which enabled Reach to secure a warehouse site at 152 Wellington Street Collingwood.
We have completed Phase 1 - an office space set up for 25 people including leaders and facilitators, and Phase 2 - a flexible, high-tech workshop space which will provide valuable space to hold programs, workshops and functions.
Phase 3 (upstairs) is next, and will contain a theatre/production studio that will hold up to 400 seats or 600 standing and two break-out workshop spaces for 40 or 50 people. Molly Meldrum's generosity in selecting Reach as one of the beneficiaries of his fabulous winning effort on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire', means that this Phase can be started a lot earlier than originally planned.
A planning team has been established to assist with Phase 3, led by Geoff Harris, Reach Director and a Founder of the Flight Centre group. The team includes people from a variety of fields including architecture, building, banking, law, and strategy development.
Please let us know if you think you could assist us in any way, would like a detailed brief, or would like to donate funds or goods in kind towards this project.
For further details please contact Sarah McDonald on (03) 9412 0900 or email sarah.mcdonald@reach.org.au.
Reach has a formal relationship with the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science at Monash University to ensure that our programs are effective, relevant and monitored. We also have a formal Research and Evaluation Committee, and have established the first doctoral scholarship of its kind in Australia on the Rookys program.
Members of the Research & Evaluation Committee include:
- Prof Bruce Tonge, Head of The School of Psychology, Psychiatry & Psychological Medicine, Monash University
- Associate Professor Ray Misson, Head of Department, Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne.
- Assoc Prof Nick Santamaria, Principal Research Scientist, The Alfred Hospital
- Justice Jennifer Coate, President, Children's Court of Victoria
- Dr Julie Pallant, Statistical Consultant, Swinburne University
- Ms Helen Cahill, Deputy Director, Youth Research Centre, University of Melbourne
- Ms Emma Lund, Psychologist, Catholic Education Office
- Ms Katherine Ellis, General Manager, The Reach Foundation
- Ms Romi Kaufman, Psychologist and Youth Support Manager, The Reach Foundation
- Ms Sam Ludbey, Rookys Program Development, The Reach Foundation
- Kirsten Emes, Facilitator in Training, The Reach Foundation
For more information about our research and evaluation program please contact Katherine Ellis on 9412 0900 or katherine.ellis@reach.org.au.
How do you know Reach is safe for your child? The Reach Founders dreamed of teaching young people the skills they need to cope with life no matter how good or how hard it gets. They found that the best way to do this was to encourage young people to talk openly, build their confidence and resilience, and inspire them to dream.
But how do you do that?
Reach believes that young people are the best inspiration for other young people. Our Leaders are typically 16 - 23 years in age and come from all walks of life. We provide them with training, resources and support so they can run workshops, courses and camps for other young people. They have a special talent of being able to create safe spaces for young people to interact, talk, have fun and go away motivated.
To ensure the maximum safety and effectiveness of these programs, Reach has a professional Supporter network in place. This network is made up of qualified adults (in medicine, psychology, business and education) who act as mentors and assist Reach Leaders. Reach has also established a 'SafetNet' structure comprising:
Child Safety
- Policies and procedures to ensure the wellbeing of young people participating in Reach programs
- Recruitment, selection, and training of staff, crew and supporters
Psychological Wellbeing
- Psychologists and social workers to attend Reach programs, to provide support for participants and crew if required
- A community network for referral in and out of Reach programs
Research and Evaluation
- Development of research projects including ethics applications
- Recruitment and training of sessional psychologists to administer research, conduct risk assessments, and follow up as necessary.
Reach also has a formal relationship with the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science at Monash University to ensure that our programs are effective, relevant and monitored. This relationship includes a formal Research and Evaluation Committee and the establishment of the first doctoral scholarship of its kind in Australia.
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