Thursday 14 June

Hawthorn and Carlton take to Etihad Friday 14 June for Step Back Think’s Lace Up Against Street Violence campaign.

For young Carlton gun Luke Mitchell, the game’s message hits chillingly close to home. Luke was 15 when his 19-year-old brother, David, sustained a catastrophic brain injury – the result of an unprovoked king hit.

Knocked unconscious, David was then kicked in the head. The final blows: two sickening head-stomps.

With barely a second to absorb the shock of the news that David was en route to ICU, the Mitchell family were told to steel themselves for his death.

Astonishingly, David survived. He describes his recovery as “like being born again”, referring to the agonising battle with post-traumatic amnesia that forced him to relearn basic skills and behaviours, such as how to speak, walk and make a bed.

David counts himself “one of the lucky ones” – a claim difficult to comprehend. He knows death – or the possibility of life in a permanent vegetative state – were each as likely as pulling through.

Lace Up Against Street Violence aims to highlight the life-derailing consequences of a single punch, rallying Australia’s finest footballers to back the cause.

Leagues across Victoria are lacing up, too, from the VFL, TAC Cup, VAFA, Northern Football League, Southern Football League, Western Football League, Gippsland, Goulburn Valley, Ovens & Murray, Bendigo, Hampden, AFL Sydney to the South East Queensland Football League.

If you want in, email us at laceup@stepbackthink.org and we’ll post you a pair of orange laces.

Snap a photo of your laced up kicks, tagged with #stepbackthink on Instagram or post to Step Back Think’s Facebook, to be eligible to win up to $15,000 worth of prizes.

Submissions are welcome from Friday 14 June until Saturday 31 August.

For more information, visit the Lace Up Against Street Violence competition page.

The 1^st XVIII teams from Carey Baptist Grammar and Caulfield Grammar competed in a match surrounded by orange balloons, scarves, jelly beans and although ultimately unfavourable to Carey, even the scoreboard boasted the Step Back Think hue.

The James Macready-Bryan Foundation celebrates James’ passion for AFL annually. The cup also serves as a poignant reminder of the change in James’ physical abilities resulting from injuries sustained by his attack over six years ago.

Step Back Think members Josh Baldacchino and Hugh Raymond Stacy took the opportunity to announce the launch of the ‘Fair Play’; a community based initiative encouraging young people to “stick within the boundaries” both on and off the field.

We were thrilled to see such a great crowd filled with so many young people supporting a worthy cause. Thanks go out to Carey sports captains, James Davy and Jessica Hansen for their hard work and effort towards the JMB Cup.

Congratulations to the JMB Foundation for holding a fantastic day and of course to the Caulfield Grammar winners! We look forward to seeing Carey challenge next years’ team in an attempt to retrieve the title.

~ Zara Cooper

Jennie is the brain behind brains, as a Professor, clinician, author and authority in the field of Neuropsychology.

Jennie’s extensive scientific knowledge will be utilised at Step Back Think to further examine the neuropsychological implications of street violence. She will also add a new and valued perspective as a member to Step Back Think’s advisory board. No stranger to boards and committees, Jennie was recently appointed President of the International Neuropsychological Society.

With over thirty years experience as a clinician, Jennie, who currently acts as Director of the Monash-Epworth Rehabilitation Centre, knows all too well the serious physical impact incurred upon victims of assault.

Jennie shared her knowledge in her book Traumatic Brain Injury: Rehabilitation for Everyday Adaptive Living, has written countless papers and in addition to this she serves the editorial boards of five international journals.

Step Back Think is hugely excited to have formed this partnership with such an esteemed voice in the field of neuropsychology. To have such a brain on board is a positive reinforcement of the future potential of Step Back Think.

Want to do something for the community but find it difficult to relate to a cause out there? Step Back Think is a not-for-profit organisation made up of young people working towards ending street violence.  If you’ve ever know someone who has been hit, felt unsafe going out at night, feared for someone you know – or are simply sick and tired of hearing about lives being ruined by senseless violence, then jump in and get involved!

Whilst we try to encourage awareness through formal education programs, we also try and have bit of fun with other activities too; activations at music festivals, ‘photobooths’ at expo’s and an AFL affiliation that promises exciting things!

You will have the opportunity to work autonomously and from home; writing your own releases, contacting media agencies and securing interviews, events and publicity.  A very exciting opportunity for a PR gun looking to make some good connections with high-profile public figures.  Street violence is a massive societal issue, so we are regularly approached by the media to provide opinion, commentary and advice; amazing opportunities present for someone who is enthusiastic to kick-start their PR career!

We would like someone to be able to commit to volunteer approx. 8 hours per week, at least until the end of the year.  Step Back Think would be happy to shape the role to fulfil any work experience requirements.

If you have are self-motivated, confident and have a bright personality, please jump in and apply.

We want someone who will love the work and feel the passion like we do!

Please contact Sarah Hore-Lacy at sarah@stepbackthink.org; applications close April 30.

 Step Back Think lay its ground at Melbourne’s Stereosonic in a 12m x 6m, astro-turf’d, marquee, right at the festival’s entrance. As the crowd consistently streamed through the gates from noon (on the dot), the Step Back Think crew mingled and darted around, drawing strong attention. Handing out inflatable orange beach balls (NB: to the Step Back Think marketing team – order more!) and snapping take-home Polaroid pictures, the team, in its distinctive orange, was near impossible to miss.

Turns out that partying is thirsty work, so a big thanks must be made to Lipton, who provided case-upon-case of its new, limited release Ice Tea flavours (the Virgin Cocktails – Daiquiri, Mojito and Pina Colada) for Step Back Think to serve up at its fresh bar. In engaging the swarm of (mainly) 18-25 year-old’s, Step Back Think’s volunteers sought to pump out the message of the importance of keeping a cool head, whilst having fun during summer festivities.

It was brilliant to note the positive engagement and participation of the crowd, with many individuals requesting further information about both the summer awareness campaign and the organisation and cause in general. This was a great feat for Step Back Think, as the first step towards culture change is the building of awareness and recognition.

At the end of the day, with over a thousand Polaroid snaps taken, thousands of festival-goers ink-stamped with the Step Back Think brand, Lipton supplies exhausted and orange beach balls consistently travelling up and around the stages, the job was done. An incredible commitment by all volunteers, at each of the stages: planning, assembling and running the marquee. Stereosonic provided an invaluable platform for the Step Back Think message to be shared with young Melburnians. The team is buzzing from the success of the Step Back Think / Stereosonic partnership, and cannot wait to plan the next awareness campaign, in continuing to work towards shifting attitudes towards violence amongst young people.

For photos, check out the Facebook gallery:

Step Back Think at Stereosonic

Josh Baldacchino.

High profile Melbourne celebrities and sportsmen unite in support of a summer campaign against street violence. The campaign, led by Step Back Think, is a collaboration with Totem OneLove Group, creators of Stereosonic Music Festival.

A collective that includes Fox FM favourites Jules Lund, Fifi Box, Jo Stanley and Matt Tilley as well as Eddie McGuire AM, Molly Meldrum, Grant Smillie, Andy Murphy and AFL footballers Josh Gibson, Brad Sewell, Harry O’Brien and Sharrod Wellingham feature in a short clip that calls on summer crowds to think deeply about the meaning of the festive season and the importance of keeping a close eye on friends.

The two-minute video, which will feature on Stereosonic’s high-traffic website, has the potential to reach more than 1 million young people. Of the clip’s intention, Step Back Think CEO Sophie Rowe said: “We want to send an uplifting message, not a doom and gloom lecture. Summer is the best time of the year but it’s also the silly season; we’re trying to stress that celebrations are best enjoyed when ‘silly’ is lighthearted fun, not careless behaviour.”

Marketing Director of Totem OneLove Group John Curtin said: “We’re big supporters of Step Back Think and recognised an invaluable opportunity to fuse our goals; both organisations seek to create a fun environment where young people feel safe, and where looking after your mates while you celebrate is absolutely paramount.”

Step Back Think is looking forward to getting out there, to share a positively-charged message about youth safety, this summer!

The ‘We All Matter’ campaign highlights the idea that a collective identity is formed through friendship – and flowing from this, emphasises the importance of recognising the significance of relationships, safety and, ultimately, life. It is important for young people to take stock and recognise that none of this should be taken for granted and that correlative to the privilege of friendship is the responsibility to encourage a culture of positive choice making.

Representing Step Back Think on the main stage this year will be team member, Dave Mitchell – who will share the powerful story of his personal experience, alongside his brother, Luke (Carlton Football Club).

Teenagers will have the opportunity to roll up to our orange carpet to meet the team and to have their snap taken with their pals, at the Step Back Think photographic booth, across the three-day event. They will be encouraged to then jump online to view and tag their images on the Step Back Think Facebook page – perhaps even with the aid of our ‘techy’ barcode shortcut!

Australian Teen Expo 2012 – Melbourne Showgrounds

Thursday 30 August – Saturday 1 September

Last week, SBS Insight turned its focus to the issue of street violence. With guests from the legal and medical professions, the police force as well as victims of violence and their relatives and perpetrators, a variety of perspectives were covered, with the program sparking a highly engaging and vitally important discussion.

The team at Step Back Think was proud to see two particular guests on the show: David Mitchell and Andrew Macready-Bryan. A victim of street violence, himself, Step Back Think Committee member, David bravely opened up to share his experience – recounting details of the night of his brutal attack and the battle for his life that followed. Andrew, a close friend of Step Back Think, and James Macready-Bryan’s father, was also an incredible spokesperson for the cause.

In seeking an answer to the question, “What makes a night on the town turn violent?” Insight called for its guests to share their experiences and corresponding views, on the relative factors and influences of violence on our streets.

While the involvement of alcohol featured heavily in discussion, the team at Step Back Think was glad to see the view of violence as an inherently cultural issue strongly promoted by Insight’s participants.

As an organization, which seeks to spread awareness of the consequences of street violence, Step Back Think recognizes the importance of acknowledging the dangerous correlation between excessive drinking and violent behaviour. Indeed, there are myriad factors that contribute to and cause violent behaviour, stemming from environmental, social, economical, psychological and biological foundations; however, while considering this multitude of factors, Step Back Think simply views violence as too often accepted as normal and inconsequential behaviour – a cultural direction the organization aims to shift.

Awareness through educational campaigns and workshops is vital to the prevention of street violence; education is key. We’re working towards a cultural change.

Professor Kaye not only operated on James Macready-Bryan following the tragedy that served as the inspiration for Step Back Think, but in earlier years coached a young James on the football field.

With both a professional and personal connection to such tragedies, Andrew Kaye pinpoints the reason for the formation of Step Back Think; “It is the worst thing you can imagine, but it’s so bad most people can’t imagine it, and certainly most young people can’t imagine it, unless they’ve seen it”.

Between the 20th and the 24th of August, Step Back Think focuses on the physical fragility of the brain, the most important organ in our bodies, during ‘Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Week’.

Youthful feelings of invincibility are at odds with the vulnerability of the human body. Via the platform of social media Step Back Think hopes to spread this message and perhaps make its audience more mindful of what they stand to lose.

Zara Cooper.