Mackay Project Booyah graduate Darnell Woodrow opens up on his past and future
A teenager was lucky to make it a day through school, ‘not giving a jack’ what happened to him. But now for the first time, he can see a future for himself beyond ‘doing naughty stuff and mucking up at school’.
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Less than one year ago, Mackay teenager Darnell Woodrow did not care what happened to him.
“I didn’t really see a future,” Darnell said.
The 16-year-old boy said during school he was constantly “mucking about” — that is, if he actually turned up.
“I didn’t think I was going anywhere. I couldn’t give a jack what happened to me,” Darnell said.
“I thought everyone was just out to get me.”
At the beginning of 2021, Darnell’s school suggested he take part in a new initiative in Mackay, Project Booyah.
“I didn’t want to do it, then I found out all the boys were doing it, and it was really bad of me, but I just thought it was going to be a kick — didn’t have to go to school and would get to hang out with all my friends,” Darnell said.
Project Booyah’s former co-ordinator constable Tegan Jones visited Darnell’s home for a chat, and the teenager had a first glimpse into his potential future.
“I realised the program could actually be for me, I got accepted and it was the best program I’ve ever done,” Darnell said.
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.
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.
Darnell completed the intensive program in December 2021 and said for the first time, he could actually see a future for himself.
“I’ve been to school every day now so far and I’ve been to every class, I haven’t wagged or anything like that so I’m doing pretty well I would say,” Darnell said.
“There is more than just running around doing naughty stuff and mucking up at school.”
Darnell now has his White Card and is looking to get a school-based apprenticeship, but said the biggest win was in his self esteem and confidence.
“I love now that I can ask for help — I feel like it’s safe to ask for help,” Darnell said.
Darnell said his relationship with authority, particularly police, had drastically improved since the program.
Along with helping the students get their RSA (responsible serving of alcohol) and other qualifications, the program teaches students in depth about the effects of drugs and alcohol.
“They break it down and tell you the real sh--, they don’t sugar coat it, they tell you what actually happens and why it’s not good,” Darnell said.
“With school, it’s ‘don’t do drugs’, that’s all it really is. But here, they show you where your life ends up and it’s pretty scary.
“You do that stuff and you’re in jail or you’re dead.”
Darnell is just one of the 10 boys who went through, with almost all of them now re-engaged at school or in new jobs.
His friend and fellow Booyah graduate Damian Walker, 16, is now starting an apprenticeship as a diesel mechanic.
Damian said before the program, he was used to “just being a d--khead” at school and was grateful for the opportunities Project Booyah provided.
A member of Darnell and Damien’s cohort Jack Evans took his own life just days before the program ended, sending ricochets through the group.
Jack’s mind had been battling two fronts, an addiction to drugs and his own mental health.
His mother Karina Evans said her son was involved with drugs since age 13, mainly marijuana before going into “harder stuff”.
“He was battling with his confidence, he wasn’t talking to anyone,” Mrs Evans said.
His mother said she heard about Project Booyah and was adamant she wanted to get him involved.
Jack missed out on the first 2021 intake but was able to join the second halfway through the year.
“At first he didn’t want to go, he was the eldest at 17 and the others were around 15 — but by the end of the six months they all bonded,” Mrs Evans said.
“I saw an improvement in Jack, we were talking about him leaving school and getting an apprenticeship.
Mrs Evans said she watched as Project Booyah helped her son gain the confidence and life skills to apply for work and transition out of school.
“He applied for a job as a diesel fitter, he got the phone call for an interview the day that he died.”
Jack committed suicide on November 16, just days before he was expected to graduate from Project Booyah.
“It blinded us. We didn’t see it coming,” his mother said.
Along with their mentors, the rest of Jack’s cohort grieved together, taking a framed photo of Jack to their graduation to ensure he finished with them.
Danica Crebbin was one of the two youth support officers helping the cohort through the program.
“[Jack’s death] put things in perspective,” Ms Crebbin said.
“It brought them together and they really began looking out for each other.
“They realised it was a real issue and possibility, that it was okay not to be okay.”
She said she operated on an open door policy, providing them with a judgment-free zone.
“They can call me anytime, and they know that,” Ms Crebbin said.
Ms Crebbin said it was all about being “their person” and ensuring the teenagers knew they had “someone in their corner”.
While the program includes education on mental health and communication all the way through to cooking and resume writing, a youth support officer works one-on-one with the teenagers to build support plans.
Once the program finishes, the second leg Framing the Future begins, where the teenagers are able to continue to access help from youth support officers for another 18 months.
“We have contact with them as much as they need, getting them into work, or re-engaging with school, even getting a learner’s licence,” Ms Crebbin said.
Project Booyah began in 2011 when Queensland police wanted to look at alternative ways to break intergenerational crime
Senior constable Keiran Horsfall has taken up the co-ordinator position for Project Booyah Mackay and will welcome new recruits in 2022.
“When we talk about generational things, in my experience as a police officer, I’ve seen people in the program and I have arrested their parents,” constable Horsfall said.
“They are probably families that haven’t had that support initially.”
While a core element of the program is giving teenagers the skills and confidence to make a life of their own in the community, it also serves as a way to bridge the “the gap of the badge” between young people and police.
“If we can break that cycle and we can break that barrier, we have that early intervention to do that, their generation of kids will stop committing crimes,” Constable Horsfall said.
“If the kids have seen that norm in their life, it’s about showing them what else is out there.
“You don’t have to go down that track.”
But the project does not just focus on juvenile offenders, with about 50 per cent of participants recommended for other reasons, including having unstable home lives.
Project Booyah senior state regional co-ordinator Paul Kaho said a large part was providing these teenagers with role models and connections in the community.
“We’re not just dealing with kids offending, we are dealing with kids from diverse backgrounds, families where they have carers and not parents
“There are some parents who themselves had a bad experience with school and they’ve passed that down.”
A critical facet of the program is its RESPECT education, based on building up teenagers’ self esteem.
“It’s getting them to value themselves, they can go ‘I can go out in the community, I belong in this community’,” Mr Kaho said.
“When they walk out, they don’t have to hide their head or put it down just because they don’t have a family back home. They have a community that can help them.”
Project Booyah Mackay is putting on a Golf Bash to at the Mackay Golf Club on June 24 to fundraise for the program.
To get involved, email horsfall.keiranw@police.qld.gov.au
To get involved in Project Booyah visit www.projectbooyah.com.au
If this article has caused distressed or you would like to speak to someone about mental health, phone:
Lifeline: 13 11 14 lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 suicidecallbackservice.org.au
MensLine Australia: 1300 789 978 mensline.org.au
SANE Australia: 1800 18 7263 saneforums.org
Beyond Blue: 1300 224 635 beyondblue.org.au/forums
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