Salvation Army officers will join the frontline battle against alcohol-fuelled violence – helping young people at risk of becoming a victim or perpetrator – at "safe place" vans planned for Sydney city and Kings Cross.
The program was launched on Monday as a joint venture between the Thomas Kelly Youth Foundation, established by the parents of the 18-year-old who died after he was king-hit in Kings Cross in July 2012, the State Government, the City of Sydney council, police, the Salvation Army and St Vincent's Hospital.
Asked if the Salvos were equipped to deal with potentially violent drunks, Attorney-General Brad Hazzard said he had every confidence they were, but he added the community had to "take a chance" to help vulnerable youths affected by the horrors of drugs and alcohol.
A trial will run from December to March, with a van stationed in Sydney Square beside Town Hall in George Street on Friday and Saturday nights. It will be staffed by trained officers and volunteers who will provide water, basic first aid, phone and internet access. They will help youths contact their families or friends or direct them to transport out of the city.
"Take Kare" ambassadors – who take their name from Thomas Kelly's initials – will also roam city nightspots to find distressed youths and send them on to the van or, when needs be, call in police or ambulance.
The City of Sydney will spend $40,000 on the trial and the state government $30,000, with a plan to expand the program to Kings Cross if it succeeds.
Emboldened by the success of similar safe places in Melbourne and Brisbane, Mr Hazzard and Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore stood alongside Ralph Kelly, Thomas's father, in Sydney Square.
"Out of the horror of two years ago and Thomas Kelly's passing, we have hope," Mr Hazzard said,
Mr Kelly agreed: "For us, having lost our son, it's a joy to see the city is becoming safer."
The director of St Vincent Hospital's emergency department, Gordian Fulde, said serious head injuries resulting from drunken violence had "dried up" since February when licenced venues around the city and Kings Cross were forced to lock out patrons from 1.30am and stop serving alcohol at 3am. There was no evidence that the violence had moved outside the lockout precinct, to areas such as Bondi or Coogee, which are also in the hospital's catchment.
Councillor Moore acknowledged that they could not anticipate all risks associated with the project, but she has witnessed it working well in Brisbane.
NSW Police Local Area Commander Mark Walton stressed police would always be on hand, but the Salvos could do what the police could not: concentrate on the welfare. "They can engage with the water and lollies and thongs and other things that actually relate quite well to the youth at risk," he said.
The Salvation Army's Streetlevel Mission leader, Mitchell Evans, said the officers were likely to wear bright yellow "fluro" jackets with the Take Kare logo.
