Luke Tarlington is the Mentoring Coordinator for the Take Hold Program. He co-runs the mentoring and living skills programs and provides case management for mentor matches and young clients. He also does front-line outreach and co-facilitation of living skills groups. His overall job entails phone, social media and face to face support of Take Hold clients, both mentees and mentors.
Luke has worked in his role at Take Hold for over 8 years. In this time, he has given of himself above and beyond the criteria for his job. He has an innate understanding of the young cohort supported through the program, and as a young man, he was a mentee in a similar program. From his background, he knows the importance of building relationships to foster trust and confidence when working with young people. Luke’s background in graphic art and media have also been a great asset in running Street Art programs.
Luke is always ready to go the extra mile to make sure young people are being supported and most importantly communicated with, using non-judgment and care. The Take Hold program has a small staff team with a large client base. Luke has worked especially hard during the COVID 19 crisis to ensure new referrals and the existing cohort are being supported and advocated for, either with OneLink, Housing ACT or Centrelink. Luke is always available by phone, SMS or through social media platforms and as restrictions have eased, he is back to face to face support. He works and has worked tirelessly to maintain a high level of support as evidenced with Take Hold and Canberra Youth Residential Service, where he also works as a residential support worker. His commitment to young people has always been the driving force in his work ethic.
