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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-11-26 Daily Xml
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IN 2 LIFE

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:48): I rise to make some brief comments on a fairly personal matter, not regarding myself but someone I know quite well who has asked me to make this contribution today, and I am happy to do so. It is a person whom some members may know, a gentleman by the name of Darryn Keneally, who runs a fairly well-known charity, a not-for-profit organisation in South Australia called In 2 Life.

Darryn did not find life easy and, from an early age, left home to avoid the consequences of being angry and essentially out of control. I might add that everything I am saying at the moment has been vetted by Mr Keneally and he is in agreement with it and happy for me to proceed on that basis.

Darryn lived in over 35 different places between the ages of 15 and 18 years. During this time he became involved in very serious hard drug use—and even drug trafficking, in fact. During this period he also committed an armed robbery. At 19 years of age he had had guns pulled on him (I understand on more than one occasion) and had been seriously involved in both crime and intravenous drug use. As a result of his drug use, he contracted hepatitis C, which he carried for 20 years. He has been cured of this disease—or as cured as I understand that one can be of hepatitis C—through the wonderful work of the Royal Adelaide Hospital and, in particular, Dr David Shaw.

Then someone approached him which changed his life. Darryn went on to embrace Christianity and its teachings as the foundation for his life. Consequently, as a result of that new direction and foundation in his life, he completely stopped taking drugs over a period of time. He completely disassociated himself with unhealthy relationships and those who were influencing his behaviour. Over time he has managed to rehabilitate himself. Darryn was aware that not only did he have to take responsibility for the consequences of his previous lifestyle choices but also confess the armed robbery to a lawyer and police of his own free will. He was remanded on his own recognizance, with a surety of $10,000. Darryn went to the Supreme Court of South Australia where the judge at the time commented that he was imprisoning people for periods of seven years for offences similar to that which he had committed. Nevertheless, Darryn had begun the process of reflection and change—which was recognised by the judge. He was placed on a two-year suspended sentence. At that stage it had been some time since Darryn had done anything wrong.

He then established a charity called In 2 Life. It is an independent, non-profit organisation founded in 2001 by Darryn. It operates an early intervention, mentoring and life skills program for troubled and vulnerable young people aged 12 to 16 who are experiencing significant difficulties at home and school or in their life in general. In 2 Life established the RUSH mentoring program, which is now also in schools in Victoria and New South Wales and which provides a vital school-based mentoring program to assist young people overcome personal crises and other negative life experiences.

The RUSH mentoring program is a catalyst to mobilise youth workers to make a valuable contribution to the community through mentoring struggling young people. The mentors are professionally trained and accredited, have ongoing supervision and debriefing support, and operate on campus during both school hours and out-of-school hours. They assist struggling young people with significant behavioural issues in order to build resilience and life skills, find a more positive future, and build stronger relationships at home and school and in their community.

In 2 Life's passionate mission is to provide a nurturing community where young people are safe from abuse, harm and suicide; a community in which they can have opportunities and support in order to reach their full potential, where they can feel they are no longer forgotten or undermined and where they are given a sense of their own importance and the power to change their circumstances. Young people in the mentoring programs are able to improve their behaviour and academic performance because someone believes in them. This means that they are able to believe in themselves and realise that change is possible and, indeed, they are worth while as human beings. This has a flow-on effect, whereby they have a positive impact on their peers, families, schools and communities. Mr Keneally's embracing Christianity has had a profoundly positive impact on his own life and that of many others through his charity In 2 Life.

Time expired.

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