Bernie Shakeshaft is on a mission to fix the kids nobody wants

Fixing broken kids – Armidale local Bernie Shakeshaft said he came up with the idea of his troubled teen program while out “on the piss one night”. Now his methods are being replicated across Australia.

A 12-year-old boy living in a burnt out car and stealing food from the local town to survive.

A 14-year-old sleeping in a swag in the backyard of his family, who had taken out an apprehended violence order against him.

These are just two of the ”end of the road” teenagers that have ended up in the care of Armidale local Bernie Shakeshaft after slipping through the cracks of the child protection system.

While he never aspired to be a “teen saviour”, the 55-year-old former Northern Territory station worker has become a hero for many troubled youths who have found themselves kicked out of home, in trouble with the law or on the run from an abusive household.

His organisation, BackTrack, is so successful at turning around the lives of teenagers by offering them traineeships and support “as long as they need it” that councils and government officials across Australia have reached out, wanting to replicate his model.

Shakeshaft revealed he came up with the idea of a longer-term program in 2006 while “out on the piss one night”, noting how “no great story every started with a salad sandwich.”

Bernie Shakeshaft is changing the lives for teenagers who are “at the end of the road” Picture: Simon Scott.

While working at TAFE he’d been given 20 students from two local high schools who were “deemed not to finish Year 10”.

“We were asked to get them work-ready,” he said.

“They were really wild. One suicided. One went to jail. No-one would have given them jobs.

“We made a good program, but then had to kick them out at the end of the year.

“I thought, we’re only halfway through this job. The job wasn’t done.”

Chatting with the local council about “the gap in the system”, Shakeshaft was given a shed to continue the work he began at TAFE.

“We take the kids nobody wants,” he said.

“The five per cent of kids no-one will work with.

Bernie Shakeshaft with a few youths he has helped through BackTrack. Picture: Simon Scott and Steve Carruthers

“ There is so much bullshit with a lot of the government programs.

“There was a gap in the system. I didn’t have a business model.

“Was on the piss one night and just started with a bunch of volunteers helping kids that needed a hand.

“We’ve had them all. Some have been in trouble with the law.

“Some have already been inside. The majority of them have mental health or drug and alcohol issues. Kids going nowhere fast.”

Today, almost 90 per cent of teens who pass through BackTrack end up with a job or back in the education and training system

Shakeshaft is now commanding audiences with politicians, CEOs and leading business figures who regularly make donations.

Bernie Shakeshaft and other BackTrack workers who are helping kids get on the right path and find employment or return to school. Picture: Simon Scott.

Recently, a local corrections official gave him a cattle farm he had inherited.

Tiny homes built by teens on the program have been added to the original shed – where they cook, clean and look after themselves while also attending lessons at a classroom with a teacher.

The training facilities include a commercial welding and woodwork shop.

“There are two parts to the business,” Shakeshaft said.

“One is with the core kids – the 11, 12, 13-year-olds – teaching them to read and write, sorting out their legal shit and feeding them,” he said.

“The second side is employing kids – we do a lot of rural work. Putting kids on traineeships, apprenticeships.”

Having struggled at school himself, Shakeshaft said he empathised with the kids who ended up in his care.

“I was dyslexic, couldn’t read and write, always considered dumb, so I can empathises with these kids,” he said.

“School is not meaningful.

“The majority of these kids have been kicked out of home, couchsurfing, getting in trouble with the law.

“We give them a second home where they can stay as long as they need.”

Shakeshaft is helping eight other towns establish a similar program: Moree, Dubbo, Lake Lake Cargelligo, Broken Hill, Hawkesbury, Tenterfield and Toowoomba, with “another 100” on the waiting list.

The NSW government is preparing to review its own child protection system.

Families and Communities Minister Kate Washington said the existing system was failing too many families and children.

“Programs like BackTrack can make a real difference to young people who have slipped through the gaps,” she said.

“As a new Minister in a new government, it’s important to recognise what’s working, but ultimately my goal is to close the gaps so fewer young people fall through.

“We’re going to be working hard to fix the mess we’ve inherited.

“It’s not going to be quick or easy but business as usual isn’t an option.”

Click for more information on BackTrack.

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