’It's not what you've done, it's who you can become.’
16 Yards sets the standard for mentoring in the justice system. Our professionalised lived-experience workforce delivers one-to-one and group mentoring for young people at every stage - from early intervention to those most deeply embedded. It combines relatability, credibility, and personal development to motivate lasting change.
16 Yards also works at the system level. We deliver training and consultancy for professionals in youth work, social services, education, and community engagement. Our services also include our acclaimed Blueprint Documentary and our lived-experience live panels. These bring lived-experience wisdom and insight, alongside practical tools, into the rooms where practice and policy are shaped.
Lived experience, backed by high standards, is the most powerful driver of change in youth justice.
Chosen by young people
✔ 90% self-referral rate
Most of the young men we work with actively request our service.
✔ Relatability
Our mentors are specialists in authenticity, drawing on shared experiences and communication styles.
✔ Beyond crime desistance
We don’t just focus on what young people leave behind. We build personal development, character, resilience, and achievable aspiration.
What sets us apart
✔ Elite practice
This is Victoria’s leading youth justice lived experience model, the “16 Yards Identity Transformation model” which is recognised and adopted across the system.
✔ Professionalised approach
Our mentors are trained, supervised, and supported consultants.
✔ Practice oversight
Our service has embedded governance and practice safeguards, ensuring safety, accountability, and effectiveness.
✔ System-wide impact
Every government funded lived experience youth justice program in Victoria now undergoes 16 Yards training.
