In his first 11 months with Inala PCYC, CJ Fa’aleava has helped 19 people learn to drive.
He is the local coordinator of Braking the Cycle, a program that has run at Inala PCYC for seven years, and in that time helped 206 people obtain their provisional driving license.
To be eligible to complete the program, Mr Fa’aleava said participants must be aged 16 to 25, have a learner driver’s license, have completed a minimum of 10 supervised driving hours, and have no access to a car or driving supervisor.
Each lesson is 90 minutes long, and participants can attend as many lessons as needed to reach the provisional license threshold of 100 supervised driving hours.
“There are a lot of vulnerable young people in the Forest Lake area who know what a car is, but they don’t understand how a car works,” Mr Fa’aleava said.
“So we walk them through a 30-minute plan of the fundamentals, cars and driving, how to check a car’s tire pressure, for example.
“We want to make sure that the kids who go through these programs have a full understanding of how a car functions.”
Mr Fa’aleava said PCYC Inala tried to help single parents without a vehicle licence where possible, but that young adults were the program’s priority.
Braking the Cycle is run at 57 PCYC locations across the state and was established in 2012.
The program aims to improve young people’s access to “employment opportunities, community connection, and driver education.”
Mr Fa’aleava said that the program’s volunteers were the backbone of Braking the Cycle. Inala’s program has about 12 regular volunteers who mentor driving pupils to improve road safety awareness and provide encouragement.
“One of the volunteers does an entire eight-hour shift every Tuesday, and many others are willing to dedicate a minimum of three hours a few times every week,” he said.
“For the volunteers, it’s always about giving back to the community, and that’s how they found their way of giving back.”
One former student of the program who keeps in contact with PCYC Inala got his license in 2020 and is currently in the process of becoming a bus driver.
“With our program, we usually keep in contact with participants for at least 12 months after they’ve got their license,” Mr Fa’aleava said.
Driving sessions are currently run from 9am to 7pm Monday to Thursday, but Mr Fa’aleava said the program needed more volunteers.
“We are looking for more volunteers. It doesn’t hurt to help your neighbours,” Mr Fa’aleava said.
“The fulfilment that you get from assisting someone goes further than what you expect.”
