Every month, Grill’d Richmond donates $500 to local organisations and asks their customers to decide who the money goes to.

When customers buy a burger, they receive a token to put into one of three jars representing different organisations. Whoever has the most tokens at the end of the month receives $300. The other two organisations receive $100 each.

Head on down to Grill’d Richmond to kick off supporting Step Back Think in 2012!

We are very pleased and excited to announce Katja Vella as the winner of the competition. Her poster encompasses everything that Step Back Think is about, the design is eye-catching while still presenting a message of ending street violence for good! Congratulations Katja.

We would also like to thank everyone who helped make this poster competition possible. We were overwhelmed by the support Step Back Think received during the competition that we will definitely be repeating the competition next year. It is great to see how many people care about the disastrous repercussions of street violence.

Thank you again and make sure to check out the Top 11 of 2011 Poster Competition gallery.

The Step Back Think team hope you all have a great (and safe) Christmas and New Years.

Before one punch destroyed his life, James Macready-Bryan was a hilarious, athletic, intelligent guy — an incredible son, brother, nephew, boyfriend and mate.

He’s not just a faceless name who’s been a victim of assault, or a statistic in police records. MBʼs our mate and he’s the reason we formed Step Back Think.

Share it, Like it, RT it… and stay tuned for more videos from Step Back Think by subscribing to our YouTube Channel, following us on Twitter or liking our Facebook Page. You can also find us on Vimeo!

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Also, If you didn’t catch the first of our #SBTshorts, check out below.

No one deserves it

We hear a thousand different reasons and countless excuses for why people get into fights… but the only thing that really matters is understanding that a single punch can end a life. Your excuses for getting into a fight won’t mean much if you, or the other person, ends up brain-damaged or dead.

Shannon McCormack was assaulted on 27 May 2007 where he was king-hit whilst attempting to break up an altercation between three men outside QBH. Shannon was leaving the Southbank nightspot with friends when he attempted to separate one of his friends from another man and was punched from behind, falling to the ground and hitting his head.

Shannon spent the next week in intensive care undergoing several operations for serious head trauma before passing away on Sunday, 3 June 2007.

Shannon’s father, Bill McCormack, is appealing for anyone with information about the assault to help bring his son’s killer to justice. “There’s definitely people who know this guy. Why are they protecting a coward”? he said.

Victoria Police investigators hope the offer of the $100,000 reward will encourage anyone with information to come forward. The case remains unsolved despite continued police investigation and public appeals.

“No parent should have to endure the death of a child, especially when it was such a senseless cowardly act inflicted by another human being,” Shannon’s mother, Ms McCormack said.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.au.

We hear a thousand different reasons and countless excuses for why people get into fights… but the only thing that really matters is understanding that a single punch can end a life. Your excuses for getting into a fight won’t mean much if you, or the other person, ends up brain-damaged or dead.

Stay tuned for more videos from Step Back Think by subscribing to our YouTube Channel, following us on Twitter or liking our Facebook Page.

Step Back Think’s Eliza McDonald spoke to Triple J about the severe consequences of throwing one punch. The interviews are featured below.
Triple J interview 1
Triple J interview 2

Luke has since been released from the Intensive Care Unit and remains in a “stable condition”. Our thoughts and prayers are with Luke and his family and friends.

Image excerpt from the Herald Sun on April 20th 2011.

During the week Premier Ted Baillieu announced the Victorian Government will fund Step Back Think with $800,000 over the next four years. A surprise to both you and us, a pledge of this amount is extremely encouraging to show the work we’ve been doing over the last 3 years has been to great effect.

We’re absolutely astonished, but also incredibly excited – as this boost of funding and encouragement helps us to pursue our education initiatives and media campaigns. It’s an exciting time for Step Back Think, so stay tuned to find what we’re up to next.

#thanksTed

(You can subscribe to our mailing list to hear about our future projects via the sign up box at the very bottom of this page.)

The Champ Moves crew are giving away two VIP passes to the Rip Curl Pro over the Easter long weekend. Check out their Facebook for details on how to enter and you could end up with the best answer ever to the question, “So what are you getting up to over the Easter break?”

http://drinkwiseforum.org.au/

The forum will explore – through host Steve Cannane, a youth panel and youth audience – why young Australians drink the way we do.

Young things will be discussing the issue of drinking from a girl’s point of view, a guy’s point of view and exploring the mentality around group drinking.

This is sure to be a great event and one lucky attendee will win a $1000 travel voucher just for coming along the day.
Get involved and be a part of this dialogue that needs to happen. Register now.

We have come to realise, however, that street violence often does not exist without excessive drinking and vice versa, and that often it’s almost impossible to examine and understand one behaviour, without also examining the other.

As an organisation campaigning against reckless, violent behaviour – while remaining unopposed to alcohol – we’ve come to understand the importance of clearly articulating our views on the issue of drinking…

• Step Back Think does not advocate abstinence from alcohol. Step Back Think’s members are young people who enjoy a drink and understand the role it plays in the social lives of the majority of young adults. What we do advocate, however, is acknowledging and taking the time to examine and understand the dangerous correlation that exists between excessive drinking and violent behaviour, and what this can mean for individuals, friends and families.

• Step Back Think stresses the importance of maintaining rationality when you are drinking and having the self awareness necessary to acknowledge the point where your behaviour may become threatening to your own safety and/or the safety of the people around you.

• Step Back Think believes it’s important for friendship groups to establish a common view on the issue of fighting and a mutual understanding of its risks and potential consequences e.g. catastrophic brain injury. It’s extremely important to have this as a sober discussion, so that if a violent situation were to erupt during a night out, the issue will not be completely foreign to the group, hopefully making it easier for the less intoxicated friend/s to diffuse the situation.