How Praxis Youth Creates Lasting Change
At a Glance
Praxis Youth supports justice-involved young people by addressing instability and providing consistent, relationship-centred support over time. By combining housing-first approaches, coordinated case-led intervention, and system navigation, young people are able to re-engage with education, employment, and community life. Sustained stability and trusted relationships enable change to consolidate rather than reset.
The Model
Need
- Justice involvement disrupts housing, education, employment and social connection.
- Support systems are limited, fragmented, short-term and crisis-oriented.
- Young people are expected to navigate complex systems with limited guidance or trust.
- Instability increases the likelihood of disengagement and re-incarceration.
Inputs
- Housing-First support and support in securing / sustaining stable accomodation.
- Skilled practitioners with lived and professional experience in youth justice contexts.
- Long-term relational commitment grounded in trust, consistency and accountability.
- Partnerships across education, employment and community services.
- Organisational capacity to coordinate support and advocate within systems.
Activities
- Provide Housing-First support to reduce immediate instability.
- Deliver consistent, case-led mentoring and practical support over time.
- Support re-engagement with education, training and employment pathways.
- Coordinate services across housing, health, education and justice systems.
- Advocate with and within systems to remove barriers to participation.
Mechanisms
- Stable housing reduces crisis, enabling sustained engagement in education, work and support.
- Long-term, trusted relationships create accountability, motivation and psychological safety.
- Consistent support over time allows behaviour change to consilidate.
- Active system navigation reduces administrative and structural barriers that cause disengagement.
- Advocacy shifts system responses from compliance and crisis toward continuity in supports.
Outcomes / Impact
Near-Medium Outcomes
- Improved housing stability and reduced exposure to crisis.
- Increased engagement with education, training or employment.
- Stronger self-regulation, confidence and goal clarity.
- Improved ability to navigate systems with support.
- Reduced disengagement from services and supervision.
Long-term impact
- Reduced re-incarceration and justice system involvement.
- Sustained participation in work, learning and community life.
- Increased personal agency and capacity for self-directed decision-making.
- Greater social and economic inclusion over the life course.
What Changes for Young People
Housing
Young people build realistic pathways into work and develop the skills needed to sustain employment.
- Engagement with job preparation, training and employment.
- Improved reliability, workplace readiness and critical / creative thinking.
- Increased confidence navigating employment systems and expectations.
Employment
Young people build realistic pathways into work and develop the skills needed to sustain employment.
- Engagement with job preparation, training and employment.
- Improved reliability, workplace readiness and critical / creative thinking.
- Increased confidence navigating employment systems and expectations.
Education
Young people re-engage with learning in ways that align with their circumstances and goals.
- Improved attendance, participation or attitude in education or training.
- Clearer learning goals and pathways.
- Developing an understanding of delayed gratification and long-term goal setting.
Mental Health
Young people develop stronger emotional regulation and coping strategies that support long-term stability.
- Improved ability to manage stress and emotional responses.
- Increased help-seeking and use of supports.
- Greater confidence and sense of personal control.
Connection
Young people experience stronger, more reliable relationships with people and systems around them.
- Trusting relationships with mentors, peers and service providers.
- Increased sense of belonging and social confidence.
- Improved ability to navigate systems with confidence
Boundaries & Assumptions
Assumptions
- Housing-First: Stable housing is a prerequisite for sustained engagement in education, employment and support.
- Consistency: Consistent, trusted relationships over time are necessary for behaviour change to consolidate.
- Young people are capable of change when provided with continuity, clarity and practical support.
- Coordinated support across systems reduces disengagement more effectively than siloed interventions.
- System responses can shift when advocacy is persistent and informed by lived experience.
External Factors
- Availability and affordability of housing.
- Labour market conditions and access to training opportiunities.
- Policy settings within youth justice, housing and education systems.
- Young people’s health, family circumstances and community context.
- Broader social and economic conditions.
