Mackay Project Booyah graduation honours Jack Evans with memorial award
A teen caught up in drugs has been described as ‘rough around the edges’ but his parents believe he was turning things around in the weeks before he took his own life. Read why his death has served as a stark reminder for his ‘Booyah brothers’.
Mackay
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Mackay lad Darius Ramsamy used to think “every cop was a bad person”.
Now the 16 year old counts police officers among his family and has nine new “brothers” he calls his “second family”.
“I just thought every cop was just a bad person because some cops out there have just given police a bad example,” he said.
“(Project Booyah co-ordinator) Keiran (Horsfall’s) not even a cop, he’s like my brother or something.”
Project Booyah is a new mentor program working with wayward Mackay youth to help them gain confidence and life skills to apply for work and transition out of school.
Darius is one of 10 “Booyah boys” to graduate from the 16-week program which he described as a “once in a lifetime opportunity”.
“When I first got accepted into this program, I didn’t even know what it was,” Darius said.
“I feel fantastic to be here, but kind of sad because it’s the end of the program.
“We felt like we were just a family.
“I love this group so much.
“All of us boys, we just became best friends and then we just became brothers.”
Fellow Booyah participant Jack Evans was “rough around the edges” but his parents believe he was turning his life around in the weeks before he took his own life.
He had been involved with drugs since age 13, mainly marijuana before going into “harder stuff”.
Jack, 17, had applied for a job as a diesel fitter. The phone call for an interview came the day he died on November 16.
It was just days before he was expected to graduate from Project Booyah in the first intake of teens.
But his legacy has been honoured through the inaugural Jack Evans Booyah Memorial Award, which his parents Karina and Duane presented at the most recent graduation.
“You could see a lot of changes in him – a lot more respect, a lot more grown up … becoming a man”, Mr Evans said about his son.
“Just simple things like if he said he was going to do something, he did it.
“This program actually really changed his life around.”
In her speech, Jack’s mother Karina said her late son was a “Project Booyah brother” who would have been humbled and embarrassed to have an award named after him.
“This award symbolises the respect, dedication, personal growth and commitment (that) you’ve all done”, Ms Evans told the 10 teens.
“We have the choice to be present in this moment.
“Which celebrates the work each of you have done to overcome some really tough stuff.”
The parents said they had been in contact with Senior Constable Keiran Horsfall and support officer Danica Crebbin ”since it all happened”.
Sen. Constable Horsfall said Jack’s passing “hit us real hard” and the memorial award came out of a desire to “pay tribute to the family and to Jack’s honour”.
“It’s the best thing I’ve done – mentoring these young fellas to make them better their lives.” he said.
“Danica and myself have seen the group go from shy, apprehensive and angry human beings to confident, supportive and respectful young men.
“We honestly do have some future leaders among our cohort.”
Queensland Police Service runs Project Booyah throughout the state alongside PCYC and other agencies to re-engage young people with the community and support them to see a brighter future.
Police officers and youth support workers take 10 teenagers aged between 14 and 17 through a 16-week intensive program and then support the teens until they turn 18.
Not all teens are engaged in crime but some arrive to the program on a miserable path if their behaviour does not change.
There is also a program in Mackay called Transition to Success program, which aims to reduce re-offending within communities.
Their involvement means they had been through the youth justice system because of prior brushes with police.
Youths fronted Mackay Magistrates Court 198 times in 2020-21, following a seemingly consistent trend in the region.
In 2019-20, youths made up 4.5 per cent of Mackay’s defendants and faced a magistrate 222 times.
Ms Crebbin said the Jack Evans memorial award celebrated someone who had “put in the effort and actively chosen to do better for themselves”.
The first ever award recipient was 16-year-old graduate Javaya Doyle, who accepted the award from Whitsunday MP Amanda Camm and stood for a photo with Jack’s parents.
Mackay MP Julieanne Gilbert and Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson were also present to speak, with jokes made about the boys’ applying to fill the council’s numerous job vacancies.
Lockie Turner got his RSA permit through Booyah and said he was instead going to “apply at a few bars” for a job.
As the program came to an end, the 17-year-old said what he would really miss was the mateship on the Booyah bus.
“I’ll probably grow up with these people for my whole life now”, Lockie said.
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