Step Up Program - Investing in the Next Generation w/ Deception Bay Neighbourhood Centre
As many of us who work in community know, sometimes things just fall into place.
You might be looking for a particular person, the next step, an organisation or an opportunity — and then, often from somewhere unexpected, it emerges.
That’s exactly what happened with River North’s second Microgrant.
When we think about our communities, we often look for ways to take action — to uplift great community-building work or create the conditions to tackle some of our bigger challenges.
But there’s another question worth asking:
What about the next generation?
We’ve heard this come up repeatedly in our conversations across the community. Concerns about children and young people, social disengagement, trauma, emerging behavioural and emotional difficulties, and the pathways that can ultimately lead to more serious challenges.
Investment in children and young people paves the path for the future. How we engage with and support children and young people today will shape the communities we live in tomorrow.
Listening first
One of the things River North has been intentional about in our first year is getting out into the community and learning from the people and organisations already doing great work — as well as identifying where there are gaps in support.
Neighbourhood centres have been an important part of that journey.
One of our early conversations in 2026 was with Kate, CEO of Neighbourhood Centres Queensland, and Leah from their Community Food Program. We talked about what a neighbourhood centre actually is, the role they play in local communities, and the incredible breadth of work happening across the sector. Check out their 'What is a Neighbourhood Centre?' video here.
That led us to Deception Bay Neighbourhood Centre (DBNC), where we met Caroline Cuckson and learned more about the work happening on the ground.
Established in 1992, DBNC has grown into a genuine community hub, offering everything from family support, community development, courses and workshops, counselling and employment support, through to emergency relief and group activities.
It’s the kind of place that demonstrates what neighbourhood centres can be at their best: responsive, practical and deeply connected to the people around them. They even have their own creative and lovely CommuniTEA gatherings!
At the time, we were particularly interested in programs working with children and young people — especially approaches that build confidence, resilience, connection and positive relationships. And then Caroline told us about STEP UP.
Early intervention, before things escalate
STEP UP is a pilot, 12-week early intervention program developed by DBNC through co-design and feedback from young people, families and schools.
It works with 8–12-year-olds experiencing emerging behavioural, emotional and social challenges, including disengagement from school and community with a model specifically designed to work alongside families as well as young people.
The need is clear.
There is a significant gap for children in this age group who are beginning to experience behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, but who may not yet meet the threshold for more intensive services — or for whom those services may not yet be appropriate.
STEP UP aims to intervene early.
Through practical, interactive sessions, children develop skills around emotional regulation, accountability, empathy, positive relationships and decision-making — helping build the foundations they need before difficulties escalate.
And importantly, the program isn’t just about the individual child. It creates opportunities to work with families, schools and the broader community around them.
Six months in, the demand is telling the story
When STEP UP was first contracted, the target was to reach 60–72 children over 18 months, from January 2026 to June 2027.
Six months in, the picture is already very different.
13 children participated in the first cohort, commencing in March.
11 children completed and graduated.
71 referrals have been received in the first six months.
A further 58 children have already been identified or confirmed for subsequent cohorts.
That means STEP UP is currently on track to exceed its entire 18-month contracted participant target within its first 12 months.
The program is already operating across multiple school communities, including Deception Bay, Dakabin, Bounty Boulevard and Moreton Downs, with further engagement developing with schools across Burpengary, Burpengary East, Morayfield, Morayfield East, Narangba, North Lakes, Rothwell and Kippa-Ring.
There is also growing interest from Police Liaison Officers and other community partners.
For us, that level of demand raises an important question:
What would it take to reach more children?
From participant to role model
One of the things we particularly love about the STEP UP model is that it creates a pathway for children who have already participated to step into leadership.
Each STEP UP cycle involves two cohorts of around 12 children — 24 children in total....
Children who demonstrate growth, confidence and leadership can return to support the second cohort, becoming positive role models for younger or newer participants.
In other words, the program isn’t just helping children develop new skills.
It’s giving them the opportunity to STEP UP for someone else.
As one school involved in the program put it:
“One of the most rewarding outcomes has been seeing our original STEP-UP participants now ‘hand down the baton’ to the next group of students coming through the program. These children have truly STEPped UP and become positive role models for their peers.”
And the impact is being felt beyond the classroom.
One young participant shared:
“I am now able to speak about my emotions. I couldn’t speak about them or understand.”
A parent told the team:
“I have noticed a huge difference in my son since he started the program. He even apologised for recent behaviour and is able to use strategies to bring himself back down to baseline quickly. Our relationship has changed and we are getting along and enjoying spending time together.”
And a Police Liaison Officer reflected:
“I truly believe this program is very needed and worthwhile. There is little support for 8–12-year-olds to help support young people to build emotional regulation and importantly accountability.”
Why our Microgrant mattered
Through River North’s Microgrant process, we provided DBNC with a $500 trust-based Microgrant, which was matched by a further small independent fundraising campaign raising $500 - this created a $1,000 Microgrant investment to explore how the impact of STEP UP could be amplified.
For us, it’s not about handing over a grant and saying, “Good luck and report back."
We’re now working alongside DBNC to explore what expansion could look like, what is needed to make that possible, and where River North might help connect the dots, identify opportunities and support the next stage of the journey.
What’s next?
With initial pilot funding from the Department of Youth Justice, the immediate opportunity now is to secure $48,000 in additional funding to deliver a complete two-cohort STEP UP cycle — supporting 24 children across two cohorts and enabling DBNC to respond to the demonstrated demand by engaging additional schools while continuing its work with existing school communities.
The potential is bigger again.
DBNC sees an opportunity for the model to expand across the broader City of Moreton Bay and northern Brisbane corridor as demand and funding allow.
For River North, this is exactly the kind of opportunity we want to be around!
Finding what’s working locally. Listening to what the community is asking for. Backing the people already doing the work. And then asking what might be possible if we worked together to take it further.
Our second Microgrant may have started with $1,000 of investment, but we hope it becomes something much bigger — for DBNC, for the children taking part in STEP UP, for their families and schools, and ultimately for the community they will grow up to shape.
