Visit our FB page https://www.facebook.com/groups/2487941138164194/

Chutzpah Inc. was established to work exclusively with youth at risk, by creating community colleges across indigenous and non-indigenous Australia.

Chutzpah Inc. delivered EXI Certificate II in Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Skills. It was publicly acclaimed in 2006 by Australia’s Governor General  for its work with young indigenous people. Chutzpah Inc. was a preferred supplier to Indigenous Business Australia for its ability to engage Indigenous communities in entrepreneurship and funded by visionaries with an eye and passion for young talent. 

Three College sites were launched with partner organisations, to establish

• 2005: Chutzpah Bendigo (Victoria) – a regional Chutzpah shopfront
• 2006: Chutzpah Goldfields (WA) – a dedicated regional Indigenous site
• 2007: Chutzpah Ngaanyatjarra (WA) – a dedicated remote Indigenous site

Reflections from John Bonnice Co-Founder Chutzpah Bendigo  

“The Chutzpah program was one of the most powerful and game changing youth programs I have been part of in over 40 years in the human service field. I saw shifts and changes in young people enabled by this program that other youth interventions could not achieve.

What was it about the Chutzpah program that made such a difference?

Our community support services including our youth services have been built around a deficit model of support. Our services see young people through a lens of what they can’t do and is problem and issue focused.  Our services view young people as consumers of services, as clients, as unskilled, challenging and complex.

The Chutzpah program starts from a totally different paradigm. It sees young people as having the capacity to be contributors, to be leaders, to be educators, to be entrepreneurs, and as highly resourceful.  It starts from exploring young people’s passions, hopes and skills. When you start from this approach with young people they respond with enthusiasm and they blossom. 

In my time at St Luke’s I was proud to be part the development of a youth centre called ‘The Chutzpah Factory Bendigo’. This centre housed a range of youth programs including an alternative school setting, a music creation program and youth enterprise initiatives like the Chutzpah program. Sadly, this centre no longer exists but its vision and dream live on through the Chutzpah program.”