Colin's Story

This story is about a boy who enrolled at U-turn when he was 13 years of age.

When I first met Colin he was introduced to us by his teacher and I could see that he was very anxious about attending U-turn Training school. He quickly told me that mum would come and see me later in the day. The other male students quickly gathered around him and told him that it was okay to be at U-turn and it was "pretty cool" and the food was great. When mum arrived she quickly informed me that Colin was being bullied at school, failing with his school work, lacking confidence, often crying at school, not coping, fighting and was often in a rage.

In the early stage of the U-turn programme we introduced female mentors to the programme as it was our long term goal to operate a programme for girls. Over the next few weeks our team slowly introduced the W.A.T.C.H. Values programme and we worked together making boxes and various articles as well as interacting with the other mentors. We had a few outbursts and with encouragement he slowly began finishing his tasks.

Our new female mentors brought fun and challenging art projects, plenty of Love and prepared the food for the boys' lunch which they later helped to prepare each week. Colin slowly came out of his shell and became more involved in the day to day operations at U-turn often pushing our boundaries and then would come back to apologise. Colin had a few setbacks as he experimented with life issues at home and school while each week we waited anxiously to see how these issues were resolved.

Colin received plenty of praise for his efforts and slowly he started to improve at school even though he experimented at being a bully. Colin slowly changed and became well mannered, happy and started to improve at school. He had difficulty reading English when he first started with us and even this improved and he was able to stay in the classroom and not be excluded because of his actions. Colin would think before speaking and would watch his actions and as a result he started to improve as he became in touch with his inner self.

We knew that if we spoke to Colin at a "heart to heart" level he would understand and eventually his actions would change. After thirteen months Colin came to the end of the U-turn programme and on his graduation day his mum thanked our group for "saving him" as she was "at her wits end" when she came to us. Colin often meets one of our team in the street and it is always a warm welcome.

This young man is now an apprentice panel beater with a reputable motor dealer in our town and is doing well with his work. For a lad that was on the outer of the education system he has become a great person and as mum said "thank you U-turn for giving me back my son".

Paul's Story

This story is about a boy who enrolled at U-turn when he was 13 years of age.

I can remember the day when Paul came wandering down the path to the Blacksmith shop. I had received a briefing about him from the high school prior to his attendance and as usual there were plenty of alarming facts. Paul is very small in stature and if anything, looks too young to be at U-turn. We made him a special stool to stand on so he could work at the bench. His history from primary school was that he was totally unmanageable, yells and screams abuse and is not a very nice person and he may be expelled from high school if things do not improve

We welcomed him to U-turn and as is usual led him through the workplace requirements and then introduced him to the W.A.T.C.H values. He was totally taken by the way he was welcomed and was not certain what we were talking about. Paul spoke to me privately during that day and said that he was enjoying his day and thanked me for having him at U-turn. At U-turn we have an additional value of Trust. This is allocated to everyone in a percentage value of 100%. Each week we revisit this value to reinforce our trust in them.

Paul was completely taken by this and made his goal to remain at 100% Trust. Slowly as the weeks went by and with encouragement from us all he improved. We have never had an outburst of anger from him; he is always respectful, trustworthy and appreciates the acceptance and friendship from everyone attending U-turn. He sometimes has a relapse and drops some bad language which is usually withdrawn or he may annoy someone. However this is usually for short periods and by the end of the day he is back to his cheery self. Sugar in his hot drinks is his downfall and even this has been reduced with encouragement from us all - "watch your sugar Paul" and he smiles.

Over the last twelve months he has remained punctual, courteous and helpful to everyone often volunteering for those jobs that no one wants. His school work has improved and he is rarely in trouble at school.

Paul is growing into a young man and he never misses a day at U-turn despite the fact that he has had several serious accidents on his bikes which we hear about in great detail. The school is very pleased with the change in him and recently he received a certificate for being part of the U-turn blacksmith team that made twelve candlestick holders for the local palliative care centre. These candlesticks were used to raise funds for the centre.

The effect of thinking before you speak and giving Paul our trust and love has made a positive change in this young man's life.

Tom's Story

This story is about a boy who enrolled at U-turn when he was 14 years of age.

We had just commenced our first term for the year when our liaison person from the high school dropped in to see me and casually wanted to know if we had a vacancy. As it so happened we did and soon she was telling me about this lad who was in year nine and was having discipline troubles at school. Arrangements were made for him to attend our U-turn programme.

Finally the day came and Tom arrived with his grandfather who was not very pleasant to his grandson or us. Tom was a tall and large boy for his age. I was having second thoughts about starting him however my inner voice said that it would be okay. Tom was introduced to everyone and I noted that the students kept clear of him which was disappointing initially as our team was very happy to see him. It was during the general discussion some weeks later that it was revealed that he was the school bully or at least one of "them" that gave everyone a "hard time". Tom was not keen on talking about himself and when we started talking about the value for the day "actions", he went very silent.

We slowly introduced each a W.A.T.C.H. value and he would enquire more about what it meant. After a while he started to talk about himself and we quickly realised that he was once bullied when he was a small boy and at home he was having a hard time with many beltings and parental disappointments. His family life was non existent except for his grandmother whom he adored. Unfortunately parental love was not something that Tom had received for a long time.

The violence at home ceased to some degree when his body changed and he realised that he could defend himself. Tom became a different person with us as we respected his situation and slowly he changed his friends at school and his fellow U-turn students became his mates. We knew that there still lurked this anger and encouraged him to be in touch with his heart and talk about his feelings which he did in confidence.

There was an incident in the third week with another student and I received the physical outcome which was minor however it was delivered more from rage than anything else. It was revealed later that the other student had called his mother an inappropriate name which caused the reaction. The other student was very remorseful about the incident and later became his friend.

Tom continued with our programme and over the following year changed into a different person often helping us or other students with their jobs or giving personal advice for solving a problem in a positive way. He is now in year 12 at school and has improved his grades. I see Tom from time to time and he reminds me of his days at U-turn as being his best and asks about the "oldies" at U-turn.

Harry's Story

This story is about a boy who enrolled at U-turn when he was 13 years of age.

This was my first adventure into working with young school boys and I was a little apprehensive about the whole event. All I could think was "why fear when I am here". Great words and as the weeks went by I understood the greater meaning. Harry was introduced to us as a lad with many issues some being poor english, low mathematical skills, lacking discipline, poor school attendance and he had been excluded from school for five days a week. His starting at U-turn was his first entry into school and his last chance.

After we "banned" soft drinks and set the ground rules he became manageable. Harry was a likeable lad with so much energy that it was hard to satisfy and he frequently pushed our boundaries. We introduced the W.A.T.C.H. values and the self assessment sheet for him to complete. Each week we heard the graphic stories from home and eventually things did change and he was allowed to re-enter school. This was a moving experience for both Harry and ourselves as we bounced around with the good times and the clashes at school. His parents were supportive of their son and us and he slowly made life easier for us all.

Harry was beginning to understand the concept of "where there is an action there is always a reaction". His overall behaviour improved and his self confidence was gained through blacksmithing, continual positive feedback and being able to speak to him at a heart to heart level through trust. He still had a wild side to tame and one day it reappeared. He removed a special hammer from the blacksmith shop and took it home. This incident was reported to the school and it was decided to wait and see.

The next week mum and his step dad arrived with Harry and the special hammer. That was a big day for Harry as he experienced the "heart to heart" conscience connection. It was a difficult experience for everyone and one that proved to be transformational for him. Harry understood the consequences of his actions and was removed from the programme.

A year passed and I met him at a youth function and was appalled at his physical condition. He gave no eye contact with me when he spoke and he was a very unhappy lad. The following year at a similar function Harry approached me carrying a young child. He and the child were well dressed and were happy to see me. He was very caring and I could see change in his face as he introduced the child as his son. He thanked me for the time at U-turn and asked after everyone. His life has changed again as he is now a sole parent, supported at home by his parents, has a job and is a very dedicated father.

Harry has many years ahead of him and as he told me at the last meeting "my time at U-turn was more than blacksmithing; I now understand why I was there". I learnt more from Harry about myself and my values than I could have ever learnt through study and talk. Thank you Harry, you are the reason for U-turn.

All names in these stories have been changed to protect the participants and comply with the Privacy Act.