Where Are They Now? Ashleigh’s Story
Welcome to another edition of our ongoing segment Where are they now? Stories of TLG Alumni. This week we are featuring Ashleigh Small – a WA-based social impact entrepreneur and passionate innovator. Since leaving TLG circles, she’s gone on to create Hello Initiative, a not-for-profit that TLG has recently launched a collaboration with!
Her experiences with the social impact space have paved the way for a diverse career. During daylight hours, she’s an Innovation Officer with the East Metropolitan Health Service, supporting the delivery of clinical and non-clinical innovation trials aimed at improving health outcomes for West Australians. Outside of hours, she’s CEO and co-founder at Hello Initiative. Between the two, she has her hands pretty full!
Ashleigh (second from right) during her time as a TLG volunteer.
Her TLG journey started back in 2013, when the organisation was still new and rapidly growing. And she’s seen all parts of the organisation: volunteering for programs as a tutor, eMentor and coordinator, as well as spending two years on the Executive Team in diverse behind-the-scenes roles as RP Support Officer and Marketing Manager.
Whilst volunteering with TLG, Ashleigh studied at UWA where she completed a Bachelor of Arts, before finishing a Masters of Social Work. In her final year of Masters, a work placement at the Aboriginal Legal Service proved to be a formative moment in her career.
“I was frustrated at the way the criminal justice system was structured and how hard it was for young people who were engaged in the system to get out of the revolving door of justice and to get on with their lives.”
Combining her knowledge of youth-led organisations such as TLG with her experience at the Aboriginal Legal Service culminated in the launch of Hello Initiative, a not-for-profit aiming to improve social and judicial outcomes for West Australian young people involved in the justice system.
Ashleigh giving a presentation on youth justice in WA as part of Hello Inititiative.
When asked about the biggest challenges facing young people in youth justice, Ashleigh explained how the cyclical nature of the system can make it hard for young people to progress in life. It often begins with a young person committing a relatively minor offence which results in a community order. This order can include requirements to meet certain education standards, volunteering commitments and other methods aimed at rehabilitation to keep the young person away from re-offending.
The issue arises when young people do not meet these requirements and are required to go back to court where a more severe order is imposed. It becomes a cycle of continuing to fall short of meeting requirements and therefore becoming more entrenched in the youth justice system, rather than moving forward with their lives. Whilst there are numerous factors contributing to this phenomenon - including complex family and socioeconomic issues - a key area where Ashleigh saw potential to make a positive change was through access to technology.
Ashleigh with some donated and repurposed phones ready to be delivered.
Many young people going through the system don’t have reliable access to mobile phone technology, which is often an essential part of fulfilling their requirements, such as attending court hearings or liaising with social officers. Hello Initiative’s Mobile Support phone drive seeks to address this issue by providing smartphones pre-installed with the apps that a young person may need to meet these requirements. They find eligible participants through referrals from community workers, with phone credit provided for the duration of the person’s involvement with the youth justice system.
Ashleigh has a strong passion for encouraging young people who are interested in creating their own social impact not-for-profit. She vividly remembers an encounter where she met TLG co-founder Dave Sherwood on a night out after a team meeting. She asked Dave how he’d managed to create an organisation like TLG. Dave responded, “You don’t need anything, you just have to do it. You just have to wake up tomorrow and decide you want to do it.” These words still resonate with Ashleigh today, having been through her own journey as a founder.
In 2023, Ashleigh was the recipient of the Rebecca Egan Spirit of TLG Award.
TLG is currently collaborating with Hello Initiative to help promote their Mobile Support program. TLG is aiming for 100 phones to be donated through our volunteer network. More information about how to donate and Hello initiative can be found here.
Written by TLG’s Public Relations Officer, Luke de Castro.