BackTrack needs little introduction … it’s been assisting youth in the New England since 2006, offering a chance for kids to turn their lives around, develop skills, find employment – and stay out of gaol. BackTrack is growing — it’s expanding into other areas through “BackTrack Everywhere”, and the man at the helm is Bernie Shakeshaft. Bernie has recently been named a Local Hero in the 2020 Australia Day Awards …

Hi Bernie. You’ve been named as a local hero in the 2020 Australia Day Awards. How did it make you feel, receiving this accolade?

There’s actually a back end to that story that’s pretty special. I received a letter a few months ago from a kid in a juvenile detention facility in NSW; he’d just watched the BackTrack documentary. He told me when he gets out of detention; he’s going to train as a youth worker because he wants to stop other kids going into detention. He asked if I could be nominated for the Australia Day awards.

So, the application was written by a teacher and a group of kids in lockup — that’s very special. 

It’s an honour, but I feel like I’m carrying the trophy for a village that’s raised a child. The way Armidale has gotten behind us, the kids who get out of bed each morning to try and change their lives – there’s a whole community wrapped around this process. It’s a huge thing.

You began to put BackTrack in operation in 2006. What do you feel have been some of the biggest changes to the programme since those early days?

The volume of kids we assist has been a big change. When we started, it was generally 16 and 17-year-olds, whereas now, most of our referrals are 11 and 12-year-olds. There’s a huge growth in the number of referrals, and the problems are certainly more complex. 

We’ve expanded BackTrack a fair bit: we now have a residential programme, we’ve just kicked off a programme teaching kids welding skills – we now have three tradies, including welders and carpenters, teaching the kids; we also have a full-time teacher working in a classroom. Everything has just expanded; teaching kids agricultural skills is a huge thing, as the agriculture industry is the biggest employer in the New England.

Our other big change is expanding BackTrack into other areas. We’ve helped communities out at Lake Cargelligo, Broken Hill, Dubbo, Grafton — and now Windsor is running a trial programme as well.

We started with a handful, of kids, a handful of youth workers and an empty old shed – but look at us now! 

Would the “you” from 2006 ever have imagined where you’d be today?

No, I’d never have forecast the growth. In the old days, most of the talk was that we wouldn’t be able to make it work, we didn’t have funding … and then a few years down the track, it was all about not being sustainable. But, we just keep defying the odds! BackTrack keeps growing, and continues to be successful.

Roughly how many kids do you believe BackTack has assisted over the years?

The numbers are always tricky, because we do so much prevention work in schools and in other communities too, but we estimate it’s been over 1,000. We currently have around 40 kids in our core programme who come to us daily. It’s a long-term programme, with no real end date … the end date for the programme is really when the kids have a job, their own accommodation and they’re not in trouble with the police. 

Do many girls access BackTrack?

When we started, we only had boys – but the need for girls to access our support has increased and is ongoing. We have a strong programme for girls that has been operating for the past couple of years. With everything we do, we keep building, making everything work better — and we’re definitely a co-ed centre now.

What continues to keep you motivated each day?

When you see kids getting it together on “the other side”, you know it’s all possible. We have such growing youth problems in Australia. In 2014, a report came out that estimated one in five kids in Australia under the age of 17 don’t go to school, don’t do any training, and certainly don’t have a job. If we’re talking about just that number, our systems are not looking after these kids. 

What keeps me going … well, it’s not really a job. It’s a life that I’m lucky enough to get paid to live! I enjoy it. I’m still kicking down the door to get to work, and I’ll continue to do it. The need is enormous, it’s growing, and to see it now being able to work in other communities is probably the proudest part for me. 

Do you think it’s getting harder for kids these days? Are the issues they’re facing changing?

When I went to school, I don’t remember kids having mental health issues. So many kids we help now have multiple diagnoses for mental health issues. This is a great concern.

The beauty of what we do here at BackTrack is that we tackle everything holistically. We give kids a hand where it’s needed — whether it’s with legal matters, learning to read or write if they need a place to sleep. It’s a ridiculous notion to think that if a kid doesn’t have a safe place to sleep at night, then learning to read and write is more important! It’s all about the hierarchy of needs. We aim to tackle everything — homelessness, mental health, education, employment …

In the past year, the book Back on Track and the documentary BackTrack Boys have both been released. How have these been received – and have they helped raise awareness of BackTrack?

We’re really excited — we didn’t think the book would ever sell so many copies!

The number of people who are looking for answers about how to help young people in this day and age is growing. Last month we had over 100 contacts from different communities asking if we could help set up a BackTrack style programme in their area. People are looking for answers.

The exposure from both the book and the documentary have been amazing, and we’re getting a lot of international interest as well — I believe the documentary is about to hit a big film festival in Texas, and it’s being screened in gaols and schools.

One of the most interesting things this year is that off the back of the book and the documentary, the number of Aussies helping us out with small donations each month is growing exponentially — whether it’s $5 or $10 a month. This little bit from a lot of people makes an enormous difference, and we’re so grateful.

We’re also getting exposure from events like the Black Hawk Dogs’ Day Out in Armidale, held on 16th November. Black Hawk have been one of our sponsors for a long while … I think events like this just bring hope to people.

Where to from here? What’s in the future for BackTrack?

We just want to help as many kids having a hard time as we can. We’re hoping to help other communities and to influence policies where we can, working with governments and other organisations to find solutions. It’s a tough gig, a big problem, but we’d like to become part of the mainstream solution.

There are some organisations we really like that we’re hoping to form collaborations with in the future and to develop pathways to assist with mental health — dealing with loss, grief and trauma, for example. Feel the Magic was one organisation that was here a couple of weeks ago; they work with kids who have lost parents/caregivers. One in four kids in Australia now deals with some form of psychological stress and mental health. I think the numbers for homelessness in Australia now are somewhere around 28,000 kids … there have to be better ways of dealing with things.

With BackTrack Everywhere, extending our programme into other areas — every community is different — the needs are different. This is the beauty of what we do; we can work around what’s needed. 

There are two things we look for in other communities: a driver on the ground — someone who’s going to get up and do the hard work; and someone at the top end of town — whether that’s the Mayor, the Superintendent of Police, Director of Education — someone who wants to see change and can push it through the system.

We now hold open days around four times a year at BackTrack, and encourage visitors to come and see what we do, how we got started, and how we’re funded. 

And we need people to see it’s not just about us; it’s about the kids, the community, Councils and local employers who support us, the sponsors, people who donate – it’s the old saying about taking a village to raise a child.

Keep kids alive, keep them out of gaol, and chase their hopes and dreams — that’s our mission at BackTrack.

One kid we helped had the best analogy. We were helping him sort out his legal issues out west; he was sitting in the truck, and he told us that the rearview mirror in the truck was so small, but it was like what was behind him – and the windscreen, so big, was what he could look out on in front of him. The day to day stuff, changing the gears and using the indicators, was the day-to-day stuff, but to never lose sight of that windscreen! 

That’s a good reflection of what we do here: a little bit of what’s behind, but the big picture’s out front.

How can we keep up with what BackTrack’s up to, or make a donation?

Visit our website: backtrack.org.au

Thanks, Bernie — and congratulations on your award; it’s so well deserved. 

You can also find out more about BackTrack’s programmes: PawsUp, Aglads, Ironman Welders, The Classroom, Running Strong, Warrah, and School Outreach through the website.