Extreact From: (2009) CURRY’S CHRONICLES ROTARY INTERNATIONAL
DISTRICT 9630 DISTRICT GOVERNOR’S NEWSLETTER VOLUME 19(5).

President Denis Clark names Paul Stanley as a Paul Harris Fellow.

In recognition of his tireless work against youth violence since the tragic event which took his son Matthew, Paul Stanley, of the Matthew Stanley Foundation, has been named a Paul Harris Fellow. At a ceremony on October 14, the Rotary Club of REDLANDS BAYSIDE donated $2000 to the Matthew Stanley Foundation. The Foundation was also a benefactor of the club’s recent Redlands Classic Ride, which attracted 508 cyclists.                              More about that in the next issue.

President Denis Clarke said: “We recognise on behalf of all parents,  the difficult personal challenge that Paul has created in forming the Matthew Stanley Foundation, the endless awareness addresses to school  children throughout the state, the value of his input towards the ‘One Punch Can Kill’ campaign, and the soul searching that he and his family have experienced since the loss of Matt. Paul Stanley has displayed intense fortitude while giving so much of himself in order to ensure that no parent suffers what his family has endured. His dedication to community service is supreme.”

In his moving acceptance speech, Paul vowed the Matthew Stanley Foundation would continue to spread the message of responsible youth behaviour and the devastating effects of excessive drug and alcohol consumption.

QUEENSLAND POLICE SERVICE
Crime Prevention Unit
Mackay Police Station
57 -59 Sydney St, Mackay Q 4740
P.O. Box 261, Mackay Q 4740
TELEPHONE (07) 4968 3572    FACSIMILE (07) 4968 3592
Email: Waters-Marsh.RonaldCa@police.qld.gov.au

Date: 18/08/09

Paul Stanley
c/o – www.matthewstanleyfoundation.com.au
Paul Stanley Testimonial.

Dear Paul
I am proud to provide a testimonial regarding the effectiveness of the presentations provided by yourself in relation to youth violence.

Prior to our campaign in the Mackay district in August 2009 I had seen your presentation twice. The first time was for the ‘Youth Violence Symposium’ in July 2008 in Brisbane. At this time the auditorium was full of International and Australian academics as well as human services industry workers. Not a word was spoken during the presentation and some of the most hardened industry workers were moved to tears. Early in 2009 I saw a presentation by you to a group of Grade 9 – 10 Bowen High School students, similarly silent and completely engaged.

It was as a result of the content of your presentation and the overwhelming impact it has on its audience that we, (Mackay Youth Support Services) and Mackay Police District, decided to invite you to talk to our district high school students in August 2009.

In conjunction with Qld Police officers and Qld Ambulance officers across the Mackay District we addressed over 3200 students in 9 high schools. The impact on students, teachers, police and ambulance officers was overpowering. In my extensive involvement in working with youth, (20 years+) I have never seen youth so engaged in a presentation. Comments from Police, Ambulance officers and teachers that attended request involvement in any further campaigns in the future and wholeheartedly support the message and your delivery of it.
Paul, I am proud to have worked along side you in the delivery of this message and support your work with youth violence prevention and reduction. Please contact me if I am able to assist with any further campaigns and I look forward to working with you protecting our youth, in the future.

Yours sincerely
Ron Waters-Marsh. Bsc App’ Psych.
Senior Community Crime Prevention Officer
Mackay District Office
57 – 59 Sydney St
Mackay Q 4740

It’s time to look beyond the drinking glass

By: Paul Mazerolle
Violence involving young people is increasing and the community has to take a broad look at why, writes Paul Mazerolle

IT IS hard to escape the impact of violence in our community. Recent incidents of domestic and family-related homicide have been shocking, as have ongoing episodes of youth violence that end in senseless deaths and serious injury. Tragically, these incidents are preventable. Police statistics over the past decade (1997-2006) reveal substantial increases in youth violence across Australia.

Offences involving violence, as a proportion of total juvenile offences, are rising, even though there has been a more proactive social and institutional response to the problem. Youth violence is typically predicted by four consistent factors: gender (male), age (15-24), alcohol consumption, and peer influences.

But while the problem is largely driven by young men, there also is a growing trend for violence in the very young — those aged 10 to 14 — as well as young women. Adolescence and emerging adulthood provide much opportunity for exposure to violence.

Being under the influence of alcohol not only makes some individuals feel invincible, but fosters an inflated sense of ego and a higher likelihood to interpret slights to that inflated self-appraisal. Add to that the pressure of interacting in a social environment that strongly endorses the use of violence as part of being male, and it becomes clear why we have so many assaults and so many tragic incidents. The fact that many “nice, law-abiding boys” are caught up in these events illustrates even more the effects of being a young male within a peer group where alcohol and machismo are highly valued.

Concerns over the role of binge drinking and the role of alcohol in our culture are clearly on the mark. But another part of the problem is an underlying cultural endorsement of the use of violence to resolve conflict, to settle differences, as well as to inform others of the importance of the tough guy role.Such endorsement is not only played out in and around nightclubs and parties, but occurs every weekend on our football fields, regularly on our highways when road rage escalates, and even in our workplaces.

So, what can be done to prevent and control violence in young people? There is a need for collective responsibility and action. Schools, churches, governments, community groups, the judiciary and the hospitality industry all have a role to play, as do the young people themselves and their families. There are no quick and easy solutions. To move forward, we need to understand the nature and complexity of the problem, to assess the effectiveness of programs and initiatives designed to prevent youth violence, to consider both short- and long-term approaches, as well as the commitment, both financial and non-financial, to responding effectively, staying the course and modifying where appropriate. While it is imperative to address both the risk factors and situational conditions that encourage youth violence, we cannot lose sight of the challenge of a culture that supports the use of violence to resolve conflict. Perhaps the only saving grace in this area is the very limited access to handguns in Australia.

Professor Paul Mazerolle is director of the violence research and prevention program at Griffith University.