A Werribee-based boxing program for at-risk young people is under threat unless it finds a new home.
Coach Darren Cowley and volunteer mentors, including youth worker Andrew Zerafa, have used the sport to transform lives since 2008.
The program, running six nights a week at Werribee’s In Balance Fitness gym, regularly attracts more than 20 young people from a broad range of backgrounds.
Many come from low socio-economic families and have struggled to hold down or secure full-time education or employment.
Mr Cowley, who operated a similar program in New Zealand, says the aim is to provide young people with a sense of purpose.
“We started with half a dozen boys and they were all fighters, but it’s snowballed and we’re now overflowing,” he said.
Mr Zerafa, who works as a school well-being councillor, said the program was paying dividends. “Some of these kids have dropped out of school, are unemployed or are just angry at the world and have nobody to look up to. We teach them how to look after their mental and physical health and the value and rewards that come from hard work.”
One of the boxers, Michael, of Tarneit, said the program was making a difference. “Some of the kids in here were on the verge of being locked up.”
Mr Cowley said that despite a desperate appeal, the were still seeking a larger venue to accommodate the program.
“In Balance Fitness has been kind enough to let us use a room free of charge, but they’re a commercial gym and we’ve just outgrown them. It might be a dilapidated warehouse; we just need somewhere to call home.”
