Project Report Peer Enrichment and Empowerment Project (PEEP) 2017 – 2018

PEEP Project is funded by NSW Health and SWSLHD

Report prepared by Youth Solutions

August 2018

Office Suite 13, Level 4, Macarthur Square Shopping

Centre, Gilchrist Drive, Campbelltown, NSW 2560

Post PO Box 112, Macarthur Square NSW 2560

Phone 02 4628 2319

Email info@youthsolutions.com.au

Website youthsolutions.com.au

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Please direct any questions you may have about this

Project Report to Youth Solutions.

Sam Young

Health Promotion Coordinator

Youth Solutions

sam@youthsolutions.com.au

Eden Fletcher

Program Coordinator (February 2017 – December

2017)

Youth Solutions

Contact Details .................................................................................................................................................................. 2

Project Leads’ Message ..................................................................................................................................................... 4

Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................................... 4

Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................................... 6

Background ....................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Project Inputs and Outputs ............................................................................................................................................... 7

Project Outcomes ............................................................................................................................................................. 8

Lessons Learnt/Key Success Measures ............................................................................................................................. 8

Conclusion and Recommendations................................................................................................................................... 9

References ........................................................................................................................................................................ 9

Attachments .................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Photos ............................................................................................................................................................................. 11

We had an exciting and busy year with the Peer

Enrichment and Empowerment Project [PEEP] in 2017

– 2018.

We delivered 30 presentations to 670 participants and

collaborated with 12 different organisations and

educational institutes. Additionally, our peer-led

community health promotion campaign #whyichoose,

which attained a total of 258 meaningful engagements,

was a great success; raising awareness of the dangers

of tobacco smoking within the Macarthur and

Wingecarribee communities.

In 2017 – 2018, the Youth Advisory Group (YAG)

members and Peer Education program members

contributed a total of 167 volunteer hours.

Thank you to the YAG members, Peer Educators,

Students and project collaborators for your involvement

in PEEP throughout 2017 – 2018.

Thanks for your support! - Sam & Eden

Youth Solutions received core funding for PEEP from

NSW Health and South Western Sydney Local Health

District.

Panarottis Macarthur generously provided catering for

monthly YAG meetings throughout 2017 – 2018.

Youth Solutions deeply values its connections with the

community and extends thanks to the following

organisations for their involvement with PEEP in 2017 –

2018:

Ambarvale High School

Camden Council

Camden High School

Campbelltown Performing Arts High School

Elizabeth Macarthur High School

Macarthur Anglican School

Magdalene Catholic High School

Mount Annan Christian College

Mount Annan High School

Picton High School

St Benedict’s Catholic College

Whitelion Airds

Youth Solutions also extends thanks to the staff for their

support throughout the project:

Geraldine Dean, Chief Executive Officer

Shannon McEwan, Finance and Operations

Coordinator

Amanda Dillon, Communications Coordinator

Miriam Deshayes, Project Officer

Rachel Kershaw, Program Support Officer

Emily Deans, Research and Design

Coordinator

Brooke Manzione, Community Relations and

Communications Coordinator

Karen Yuen, Youth and Community

Development Coordinator

Youth Solutions deeply values the support of the Youth

Advisory Group (YAG) and would like to thank the

following members for their commitment to the PEEP

Project in 2017 – 2018:

Riordan Anderson

Rhiannon Berki

Ebony Boothe

Jessica Brown

Mitchell Davis

Laura Dwyer

Joel Escarate

Blaine Horne

Kassee Loomes

Samantha McAuley

Johnny Nyguen

Lauren Payne

Rachel Scott

Praween Senanayake

Cameron Snell

Youth Solutions would like to thank the following Peer

Educators and Students for assisting with PEEP in 2017

– 2018:

Rachel Abdel-Nour

Khalid Almalki

Danielle Kahn

Quynh Le

Jacklene Majdalawi

Nadia Miah

Rashad Moussa

Brodee Tapp

Youth Solutions is a non-government youth drug and

alcohol prevention and health promotion charity,

working with young people aged 12 – 25 years in the

Macarthur and Wingecarribee regions of NSW. Youth

Solutions’ programs are guided by the principles of

prevention and early intervention, harm minimisation,

health promotion and youth participation.

The Peer Enrichment and Empowerment Project

[PEEP] was established in May 2010. It is a core project

that is funded by NSW Health and South Western

Sydney Local Health District. Through PEEP, Youth

Solutions aims to increase the knowledge of alcohol and

other drugs and skills in health behaviours for young

people between the ages of 15 and 25.

In 2017 – 2018, PEEP consisted of 23 members, who

contributed a total of 167 volunteer hours. Members

participated in ongoing internal training to develop their

knowledge and skills. The 2017 – 2018 PEEP training

topics were:

Teamwork and communication

Resume writing and job applications

Cyber awareness

Drug classifications and effects

Health promotion program evaluation

New psychoactive substances

In 2017 – 2018, PEEP members were involved in the

co-facilitation of 30 peer education presentations to 670

young people aged 12 – 25 years. The majority of these

presentations were delivered as part of Youth Solutions’

SAFE Series which contains the Party SAFE program

and the Drive SAFE program. Feedback from PEEP

members, service users and stakeholders has been

extremely positive.

Project highlights:

95.7% of YAG members reported increased knowledge of the topics presented in the PEEP training program

95.7% of YAG members reported increased skills to deliver information to peers on the topics presented

95.7% of YAG members reported increased confidence to deliver a peer education activity

Over 96% of participants in peer led presentations (Party SAFE or Drive SAFE) reported increased knowledge about the types and effects of alcohol and other drugs

Over 95% of participants in peer led presentations (Party SAFE or Drive SAFE) reported increased knowledge about being safe around alcohol

Over 95% of participants in peer led presentations (Party SAFE or Drive SAFE) reported increased knowledge and skills about what to do in an emergency.

PEEP is a Youth Solutions core project, funded by NSW

Health and South Western Sydney Local Health District.

The project lies within Youth Solutions’ priority area 1 –

community.

Priority Area Goal

Develop a responsive and flexible approach to youth alcohol and other drug prevention, including engagement with marginalised groups of young people

Priority Area Objectives

Deliver alcohol and other drug prevention and early intervention projects for young people

Deliver health, wellbeing and resilience education for young people and key stakeholders, including educators and parents

Implement health promotion and social marketing campaigns in the community

Through PEEP, Youth Solutions aims to increase the

knowledge of alcohol and other drugs and skills in

health behaviours for young people between the ages

of 15 and 25 by:

Delivering a PEEP training program to peer educators

Facilitating peer education workshops and peer-led community events

Delivering one peer led community health promotion campaign that addresses the health issue of tobacco smoking

Youth Solutions aims to achieve these outcomes

through the Youth Advisory Group (YAG), the Peer

Education Program, Peer Education Training Program

and Peer Education presentations.

The importance of peer education in communicating

messages to young people is well-documented (Otim et

al. 2015). Consistent with previous years, Mission

Australia’s latest Youth Survey (2018) shows that young

people increasingly rely on their friends, social media

networks and the internet as a source of information and

support. Hence, this is why the PEEP project aims to

support and empower our peer educators to deliver

health promotion messages to their peers (and to the

broader Macarthur and Wingecarribee communities).

The Youth Advisory Group (YAG) is a group of

volunteers who live, work or study in the Macarthur and

Wingecarribee regions. The YAG assists Youth

Solutions to identify issues of concern for young people

and develop effective strategies to address identified

issues. The YAG also deliver peer education workshops

in the community and implement an annual peer-led

health promotion campaign.

The Peer Education Program consists of a group of

volunteers who live, work or study in the Macarthur and

Wingecarribee regions. Peer Educators assist Youth

Solutions with delivering peer education workshops and

implementing an annual peer-led health promotion

campaign.

The Peer Education Training Program is the program

available to YAG members and eligible students and

volunteers. Through the Peer Education Program, YAG

members, volunteers and students develop their

knowledge and skills to become Peer Educators and to

deliver peer education workshops and assist at peer led

stalls and events.

Peer Educators deliver peer education presentations to

young people aged 12 – 25 years as part of the Youth

Solutions’ SAFE Series (including Party SAFE and

Drive SAFE). Peer Educators also attend stalls and

events in the community including #whyichoose

campaign stalls and Safer Celebration campaign

events.

Youth Solutions’ evaluation of PEEP 2017 – 2018 is

outlined in detail below.

YAG members and Peer Educators

All YAG members and Peer Educators were asked to complete a pre-evaluation survey upon joining the program which measured current knowledge and skill levels. (ET.9.1 YAG – Pre Evaluation and ET.9.3 Peer Educator – Pre Evaluation)

Exiting YAG members and Peer Educators were asked to complete a post-evaluation survey which measured knowledge and skill increase. (ET.9.2 YAG – Post Evaluation and ET.9.4 Peer Educator – Post Evaluation)

YAG members and Peer Educators were asked to complete an evaluation survey following each PEEP Presentation and event that they co-facilitated which measured their perceived confidence and skill increase. (ET.10.1 PEEP Presentation or Event – Peer Educator Post Evaluation)

YAG members and Peer Educators were asked to complete an evaluation survey following

each PEEP training event which measured their knowledge increase. (ET.10.2 – PEEP Training Event – Peer Educator Post Evaluation)

Participants/Service Users

All service users participating in peer-led workshops and presentations were asked to complete a post-evaluation survey which measured knowledge increase and collected information about consumer feedback. (ET.5.1 – Drive SAFE Service User – Post Evaluation or ET.1.2 – Party SAFE Service User – Post Evaluation)

Stakeholders

All stakeholders (including teaching staff and event organisers) involved with peer-led workshops and presentations were asked to complete a post-evaluation survey. This survey measured perceived knowledge and skill increase of workshop participants, stakeholder confidence in working with young people (and whether or not they learnt about effective support strategies), and general feedback. (ET.5.2 – Drive SAFE Stakeholder – Post Evaluation or ET.1.2 – Party SAFE Stakeholder – Post Evaluation)

Youth Solutions Staff

Following the completion of all workshops, presentations or events attended by a Peer Educator, the Youth Solutions staff member leading that activity completed an internal evaluation form noting the strengths, challenges and recommendations.

At the completion of PEEP 2017 – 2018, all Youth Solutions staff participated in an overall project evaluation and noted the strengths and challenges of the project over the past year and recommendations to inform key strategies for the project in the next funding cycle.

Number of participants in peer led presentations

Target: 250

Actual: 670

Number of presentations facilitated by peer

educators

Target: 10

Actual: 30

Number of educational institutions/organisations

involved

Target: 10

Actual: 12

Percentage of participants reporting increased AOD

knowledge and healthy behaviour skills

Target: 85%

Actual: 93%

Number of peer led health promotion campaigns

Target: 1

Actual: 1 (#whyichoose)

Number of engagements in peer led health

promotion campaigns

Target: 200

Actual: 258

In 2017 – 2018, PEEP consisted of 23 members who

participated in the Peer Education Training Program.

Following the completion of their training, members

were involved in the co-facilitation of 30 peer education

presentations to 670 young people aged 12 – 25 years

as well as numerous peer led community events and

stalls. Additionally, the peer-led community health

promotion campaign #whyichoose, which aims to raise

awareness of the dangers of tobacco smoking within the

Macarthur and Wingecarribee communities, attained a

total of 258 meaningful engagements.

In 2017 – 2018, PEEP also had a positive impact on our

YAG members, with 96% reporting an increase in

knowledge of the topics presented in the PEEP training

program. Almost all (96%) YAG members reported

increased skills and confidence to deliver information

and activities to peers on the topics presented in the

PEEP training program.

Unfortunately, no exiting Peer Educators or students

were available to complete the post-evaluation survey.

In 2017 – 2018, participants of peer led workshops and

presentations reported the following:

Over 96% of participants in peer led presentations (Party SAFE or Drive SAFE) reported increased knowledge about the types and effects of alcohol and other drugs.

Over 95% of participants in peer led presentations reported increased knowledge about being safe around alcohol.

Over 95% of participants in peer led presentations reported increased knowledge and skills about what to do in an emergency.

Peer Educators were educated and upskilled through the Peer Education training program.

Peer Education training program was tailored to meet the needs and interests of the participating YAG members, students and volunteers.

Peer Educators were given numerous opportunities to co-facilitate workshops and presentations and continuously develop their confidence and skills.

Project achieved NSW Health and SWSLHD Project Key Performance Indicators.

Project received positive feedback from YAG members and participants in peer education workshops and presentations.

Project collaborated with 12 different organisations and educational institutes.

Peer Educators found it challenging to attend all training and events due to work and study commitments.

It was challenging to recruit YAG members from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds.

Notable lack of enthusiasm for the #whyichoose campaign and the topic of tobacco smoking from some Peer Educators.

To conclude, Youth Solutions had a successful year

with the Peer Enrichment and Empowerment Project.

We delivered 30 presentations to 670 participants and

we collaborated with 12 different organisations and

educational institutes. Additionally, our YAG members

and Peer Education program members contributed a

total of 167 volunteer hours.

We found the program worked best when Peer

Educators were adequately trained, confident and

passionate about the topics they were presenting or

discussing as these factors led to participant

enthusiasm. For this reason, our recommendations, for

future are:

Continue to provide Peer Educators with adequate and ongoing training opportunities.

Continue to tailor Peer Educator training schedule to suit the interests and needs of the Peer Educators.

Continue to aim to recruit YAG members from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds by liaison with different community groups.

Revise and modify #whyichoose campaign activities with the guidance of the YAG members to ensure YAG enthusiasm towards the campaign.

Mission Australia 2018, Youth Survey 2018, Mission

Australia, viewed 15 January 2019,

https://www.missionaustralia.com.au/what-we-

do/research-impact-policy-advocacy/youth-

survey

Otim, ME, Jayasinha, R, Forbes, H & Shah, S 2015,

‘Building evidence for peer-led interventions:

assessing the cost of the Adolescent Astham

Action program in Australia’, Australian Journal

of Primary Health, vol. 21, pp. 438-443.

Office Suite 13 Level 4

Macarthur Square Shopping Centre 200 Gilchrist Drive

Campbelltown NSW 2560

Post PO Box 112

Macarthur Square NSW 2560

Contact us 02 4628 2319

info@youthsolutions.com.au

YouthSolutionsNSW

YouthSolutions

youth_solutions

YouthSolutionsNSW

Funded by NSW Health and South Western Sydney Local Health District