Background
Children often experience bullying, sexual harassment, and other social, physical or mental challenges, at school, going to and from schools, or at home. The effects of such experiences can result in children exhibiting emotional, psychological, and even physical development issues. They often are also unable to easily make friends due to social discomfort or confusion. At times children may even feel socially isolated and alone.
In response to such concerns Neighbourhood Watch Queensland The Gap initiated a Safety Bag Tag project to distribute ‘Safety Bag Buddy’ and ‘Safety Bag Mates’ tags containing relevant phone numbers of people or organisations that children and young people can call ‘to talk to someone who will understand them, no matter what they were dealing with in their life’.
In 2020, a total of 1494 were distributed by the Neighbourhood Watch Queensland The Gap to every child in three local schools in The Gap, Payne Road State School, St. Peter Chanel Catholic Primary School, and The Gap State High Schools (Yrs 7 to 9). The distribution of these Bag Tags was made possible through financial support from community organisations such as the Boomerang Bags The Gap and Surrounds; and the Rotary Ashgrove the Gap, and local politicians from all levels of Government.
In parallel, The Rotary Ashgrove/The Gap in 2020 initiated its Safe Kids program, focusing on providing educational support to children experiencing the effects of domestic violence on their wellbeing. Safe Kids program was developed as part of its Wester Cluster of Rotary Club’s Action Against Domestic Violence Strategic Plan that also includes an educational support to chaplains and counsellors in local schools.
As Rotary’s educational focus complements the broader goal of the Safety Bag Tags project of the NHWQ The Gap, a Partnership was forged between the two organisations to launch a joint Safety Bag Tags Initiative.
The primary goal of the Safety Bag Tag Initiative is to keep our kids safe, by giving every student easy access to a person or organisation to talk to in times of need and talk in confidence; ‘No matter what they were dealing with in their life’.
In 2021-25 the goal is to reach every student in Queensland and by 2030 we are hoping to see every child in Australia with a Bag Tag Mate attached to their school bag.