LARF – which stands for Life skills, Activities, Relationships, and Fun – was recognised by the City of Ballarat Youth Awards last week.

Proceeds from the 36-kilometre walk next month will go towards activities for the LARF program and the centre’s childcare.

Year 11 student Maggie Sellers began in the program as a mentee and is now a mentor.

“It was somewhere you could come and feel safe.

“You had someone who was older who you could look up to but who would listen to you.”

As a mentee, LARF felt like “being part of another family,” Maggie said.

“At the time my parents had broken up and I’d been experienced constant fighting through my whole childhood.

“I was in the art therapy program and then I was too old to be in that so they referred me to the LARF program, throughout that time my mum had breast cancer, I was experiencing my own anxiety and depression, I moved into high school. 

“It made you feel included and safe and accepted.”

The program has a waiting list of 10 children and needs more mentors to expand, co-ordinator Erica Lubanszky said.

“What the mentees and the mentors have done such a great job of doing is creating a really nice community, everyone in those groups genuinely wants the best for the other person.

“It’s a beautiful community but when someone new comes, it’s not exclusive, it’s like ‘come on in’.”

To become a LARF mentor contact LARF co-ordinator Erica Lubanszky at erica.lubanszky@salvationarmy.org.au. 

The program matches trained 16 to 25-year-old volunteer mentors with young people aged between seven and 15.

The groups run fortnightly during school terms from 7 – 9pm.

Walking Home is on Saturday, November 5 and includes five distances from 36-kilometres (Linton to Ballarat) to 3-kilometres (Lucas to the CBD). 

For more information or to register visit salvationarmy.org.au/walkinghome or contact SalvoConnect Western on 5329 1100. Entry is between $50 and $20 depending on the distance.