An innovative $500,000 programme will see troublesome teens sent to Paget Island for intensive group discussions and challenging outdoor exercise.

The aim of the Mirrors course, of which the island expedition is just one part, is to get the 15-18 year-olds to change their mindsets and take responsibility for their lives.

They will be given long-term support in this commitment from 90 to 100 youth professionals and trained volunteers, who are presently being recruited.

According to Minister of Social Rehabilitation Dale Butler, Mirrors will address the needs of a growing population of at-risk young people in Bermuda.

"They have disconnected from society and are participating in behaviours which put their safety in jeopardy. They many be alienated from their parents and their schools, and they are not learning the skills that they will need to be productive and self-sufficient in our society," he said.

He explained Mirrors, which is based on a similar programme in the UK called Youth at Risk, would seek to address the "resignation, scepticism and cynicism" of today's teenagers.

The professional and volunteer workers will be trained in how Mirrors works and also in how to identify 25 to 35 participants for the first six-day residential course on Paget Island in November.

This section will be delivered by the staff of Miami-based company Uncommon Results, which has worked with young people in many American cities as well as the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands.

During the course, Mr. Butler said the teens people would take part in a series of group discussions "in which the participants can off-load some of the psychological garbage" that has been affecting their lives."

He said a succession of challenging outdoor exercises involving a ropes course was designed to create team building and a sense of achievement.

Following this, the trained volunteers will coach the young people on a one-on-one basis over a period of nine months to a year, keeping in contact at least three times per week. The helpers will also reach out to their families.

It is anticipated that further courses will follow the initial 2007 roll-out. According to Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Social Rehabilitation Kevin Monkman, it is hoped that a partnership with private companies may come to fruition in time, in terms of both funding and also the provision of volunteers.

He said that in other jurisdictions, companies have allowed staff paid time off for the residential portion of the course.

Mr. Monkman added that the the Minister would take some proposals to Cabinet regarding the issue of "community buy-in" at a later point.

Anyone interested in training as a volunteer, or suggesting a suitable young person to participate in Mirrors, should contact the programme office at 278-4904.