The Melbourne youth outreach worker will visit the Border next week to share his experience with a group aiming to do much the same.

Mr Twentyman will speak at a luncheon for Boys To The Bush, which offers camps in the country for at-risk boys aged 10 to 15 years.

Founded about 12 months ago by Border teachers and sportsmen Adam DeMamiel, Richard Leahy and Tim Sanson, Boys To The Bush has run seven camps attended by 76 children from around Australia.

Mr DeMamiel said Wednesday’s luncheon at Commercial Club Albury would introduce their group to a wider community.

A board of business people now supported the three founders, who wanted to focus more on young people in Albury-Wodonga.

“That’s our backyard and that’s what we want to look after,” Mr DeMamiel said.

“The three of us that run the camps as well as our board, we’re all dads and stuff. There’s a lot of kids around here that could do with our support.”

Mr Twentyman said finding ways to engage young people in positive activities played an important role.

“So they don’t become part of those who are disaffected and end up becoming your offenders and your drug users and your gang members of tomorrow,” he said.

But individual enjoyment remained key.

“There’s no point trying to coerce a kid into playing cricket if he or she hates it.” the campaigner said.

“I don’t think in all my 40-odd years as a school teacher and youth worker, it’s never been more critical … that all the schools should have outreach youth workers who can help kids that are highly at risk, help that kid’s family and obviously you’re helping the school,” he said.

“And the overall winner is us as a society because they’re not out of school, running around causing mayhem.”

Mr Twentyman said isolation continued to be a major concern in regional areas.

“It’s all compounded by youth unemployment,” he said. “If we can’t find jobs for kids then we’ve got to find activities that make them feel as though they’re connected and part of something.”

Mr DeMamiel said Boys To The Bush tried to achieve such connections.

“A lot of the participants we’ve had, this is the one thing they do belong to, a lot of the boys don’t belong to sporting teams or different types of clubs,” he said.

“Boys To The Bush is now their thing, they’re staying in contact with us and with each other.”