‘Sport is the answer’: Creating positive change for prisoners, disadvantaged youth
When Michael Gallus walks into a prison or a youth justice centre, he is met with great enthusiasm from inmates.
In his bag is a range of sporting equipment — footballs, soccer balls, basketballs, cricket bats — and an opportunity for detainees to run around and smile for a while.
His not-for-profit organisation Footys4All is working to get sports equipment to the most disadvantaged members of society.
So far he has held clinics or tournaments in prisons, remote Aboriginal communities, low socio-economic areas and special-needs schools.
They've even done some work overseas, in Fiji and Uganda, and say the results have been amazing.
"It gives hope and also opportunity to disadvantaged kids," Mr Gallus said.
"Also kids in need of a community and in need of a positive pathway in life, sport gives them that."
Another point of difference with Footys4All is participants get to keep the equipment after the clinic ends.
So far the group has given away more than 22,000 new balls.
"Nelson Mandela said sport speaks to youth in a language they understand," Mr Gallus said.
"It's more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers. It has the power to inspire."
Mr Gallus said many children from disadvantaged backgrounds didn't get the opportunity to play team sports.
"I've seen the positive effects that sport has on children and there's so many kids out there that aren't getting that opportunity.
"The people that we target, the communities that we work in across the low socio-economic areas, they're hurting.
"The gas prices are up, the electricity prices are up, food prices are up, and I take my hat off to these families, they're doing all they can to keep their kids alive.
"They just don't have the money to buy a ball."
Mr Gallus said engaging young people in sport could help give them an alternative path in life and keep them out of trouble with the law.
"If we can give them a ball, if we can get them involved in sport, well they've got a positive pathway, they've got a positive community.
"In the prison system and in the general community, people think you lock them away and they never come out again. Well we all know that in real life, prisoners come back into the community.
"If we can give them some positivity and some hope that people care about them … it makes them want to feel and act in a better way when they come back into society and it also gives them a community to join when they come out."
The volunteer-run organisation is seeking government funding to expand its programs into more schools, giving more children the chance to benefit from being active and engaged in sport.
"If we can give them that hope and that opportunity, it's going to create a great deal of positive community change," Mr Gallus said.
"Sport is the answer."
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