A shiny, reconditioned bus was the feature of a graduation ceremony for seven Mission Australia U-Turn participants.

Mission Australia State Director Noel Mundy said the reconditioned PCYC community bus was now ready for many more years of service to the Bridgewater community.

“During their time at U-Turn, the participants worked on a Toyota Coaster Bus that had suffered from years of minor mishaps resulting in many minor body dents and scratches,” Mr Mundy said.

“The participants completely stripped back the paint work to repair the damaged areas.

“The opportunity for participants to repair a vehicle for presentation to a worthy community group is one of the most important components of the program.”

Andrew Dean from the Bridgewater PCYC said the U-Turn graduates had done a fantastic job with the repairs and the bus will now become the PCYC’s flagship vehicle.

Mr Mundy said an exciting new development at U-Turn is the announcement that major transport company and heavy machinery company Hazell Bros is offering an annual three month scholarship to a U-Turn participant.

“Each year a participant will be placed with Hazell Bros as a paid trainee with the possibility of gaining a full traineeship,” Mr Mundy.

“In its inaugural year Mission Australia is pleased to announce that this scholarship has been awarded to Aaron Sprong.”

U-Turn is a ‘best practice’ diversionary program for young people who have been involved in, or who are at risk of becoming involved in, motor vehicle theft. The core component of the program is a structured ten-week automotive training course in car maintenance and body work, delivered in a workshop environment.

The U-Turn workshop is located in Hobart, but a supported accommodation service is also available to enable young people from other parts of the State to participate in the program. The program is delivered by Mission Australia, under contract to Tasmania Police, and is funded by the State Government.

In this year’s budget, the State Government announced additional funding for U-Turn to enable two part-time youth workers to be appointed as dedicated post-course support workers. The State Government has also committed ongoing funding for the program until June 2010.

Mission Australia has almost 280 services across every state and territory in Australia and has five offices in Tasmania, located in Burnie, Launceston, Hobart, Moonah and Devonport

For more information: Lucinda Bray, Beyond PR, 6223 3333 or 0438 280 486