The Shooting Stars Way

Shooting Stars is mostly staffed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. They bring their own lived experience and cultural knowledges with them. 

The program relies on the wisdom of staff in each site location to understand the local context, community needs, strengths and opportunities. 

The team regularly comes together from across the regions for professional development sessions and planning workshops, where they can share experiences and ideas. We often have training in areas like program content, processes, strengths-based and trauma-informed practice, and other new learnings identified through research and evaluation. 

Our dedicated Research team works with the broader team to ensure we're collecting knowledge from staff, participants and communities through methodologies like yarning. 

We share our knowledge and research internally and outside of our organisation too, so we can all work together towards our similar goals.

With cultural knowledge, lived experience, understanding of trauma informed practice and strengths-based practice, along with practice wisdom, we can shape our program to support the best outcomes for participants and communities.

Positive outcomes for Shooting Stars participants are achieved through the collective efforts of participants themselves, as well as families, schools, communities and other support services and organisations. 

When we all work together, young people are able to grow into strong and active leaders in their communities. 

Shooting Stars staff members have a presence in Community, so we are able to collaborate to ensure consistent responses when meeting the needs of young people in the program. 

We also establish localised steering committees to inform, guide and support the program at each Shooting Stars site, shaping it at a local level. 

Together, we take a holistic approach to meeting the needs of young people through inclusive and collaborative planning and decision-making. 

At Shooting Stars, the most valuable tool we bring to our roles is ourselves. We build positive relationships with the young people in our program, fostering respect, openness and trust. We are attuned to their needs, affirm their experiences and provide opportunities for growth. 

We take the time to develop a positive rapport and trusting relationships with each participant so they feel comfortable in seeking support from us. 

As staff, we are mentors and role models who support participants to develop positive relationships with schools and teaching staff. 

By ensuring consistency and routine in our relationships and programs, we can help participants to feel safe and engage with change. 

The Shooting Stars Way recognises the critical importance of relationships with key people in the lives of program participants - their families, peers, school and community - this is central to the work we do. 

We priorities understanding and meeting the needs of young people in our program, addressing their personal and developmental needs whilst developing and maintaining cultural identity.

We address their needs through well-planned Health and Wellbeing sessions, which focus on topics such as healthy relationships, safety, physical health and emotional wellbeing. 

Each participant holds unique strengths, capabilities and hopes for themselves that can be harnessed and strengthened. The program provides opportunities to develop important life skills to grow the participants' capabilities for dealing with everyday challenges. This helps to empower a strong sense of identity and self determination in the young people of our program.

Our program delivery recognises and takes account of the different learning styles of participants. We deliver activities that are culturally appropriate, and align with these different learning styles. 

We engage in strong cultural practice based on reciprocal learning, activities and storytelling, facilitated by deep listening and working in partnership with Traditional Owners and Elders. 

We commit to the empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls, women and young people, not just within the Shooting Stars program, but everywhere. They share a fundemental right to shape their own lives. 

Self-determination comes in many forms, and can mean different things to different people. So, we commit to providing opportunities to explore what this means for each individual in the program. This leads to providing opportunities for meaningful participation, while promoting equity and equality with respect and integrity. We advocate for these things across all aspects of Shooting Stars. 

We support girls, women and young people to make their rights, needs and preferences known in the systems that have influence in their lives - such as education, health and youth justice. We challenge systems that oppress Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls, women and young people. We actively look for ways participants can have their rights and entitlements understood, respected and addressed.

We even challenge the status quo of our own systems, processes and practices, to ensure that we are continually improving and responsing to the needs and preferences of participants and communities. 

We aim to support the growth of people along the way, so they become allies for each other and advocates for themselves, empowered to define their own meaning of success, realise their potential and drive their own future.