Sunshine TV show isn’t ‘reality’ social worker claims

A new TV show about the struggles of young African refugees in one of Melbourne’s most notorious suburbs ‘fails to show the battle they are really facing’, a social worker claims.

The multicultural suburb of Sunshine in the city’s west has long had a reputation for high crime and more recently being a stomping ground for the African ‘Apex gang’.

So bad were things on the streets, locals claim the suburb became known across the city as ‘Scumshine’.

But while its reputation has now improved, the suburb has returned to the headlines in recent times following a new SBS drama on South Sudanese migration to the area.

Featuring Australian film legend Anthony LaPaglia, the ‘Sunshine’ miniseries tells of a teenage basketballer who struggles to escape the area and its African gang troubles.

While the series has been widely praised, a leading youth mentor who works with the Apex gang told Daily Mail Australia it missed some of the big issues facing young African men.

‘Sunshine’, which is named after the suburb, follows the story of a young South Sudanese teen who looks to make his way out of the area through basketball

‘It’s a good story, but it doesn’t represent the struggles of the everyday community,’ said Matt Williams, the co-founder of local youth group The Chin Up Project.

‘It’s promoting the story of a young African man growing up in Sunshine who found a way out through sport, and don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice story.

‘And while it’s an opportunity or an avenue that’s definitely out there, it’s unrealistic en masse to think kids can find a way out this way.’

A veteran of close to a decade in youth justice, Mr Williams has seen Sunshine grow and improve first-hand in recent years.

There’s been investment into local infrastructure such as a new private hospital, new apartment complexes, a revamped train station and increased levels of policing.

But it hasn’t always been this way.

Sunshine got its negative nickname because, among other things, it often ranked among the top areas in the state for crimes including robbery, drug manufacturing and heroin use.

While rundown buildings, barbed wire fences and burnt out cars can still be seen, they are far less commonplace than they once were.

Local community and business leader Bruce White (pictured) says Sunshine has improved dramatically in recent decades

That’s something that pleases Bruce White, a business owner and community leader who was at the forefront of the area’s rebound from the dark days.

‘I came to Sunshine as a teenager in the 1980s, I worked at Coles and I built my first house in Sunshine,’ Mr White said. ‘It was a very different community.

‘Back then, it was all Europeans and Aussies, but things change and Sunshine went through a bit of a phase where it took a step back and that damaged its reputation. 

‘It wasn’t clean or tidy and there was a lot of antisocial behaviour, so if you knew the area well you loved it, but if you didn’t know anything about the area you avoided it.’

The suburb (pictured) has seen heavy investment from local government in recent years, but was previously nicknamed ‘Scumshine’ after years of crime and low socioeconomic conditions

The rundown former AMF tenpin bowling complex, complete with boarded-up windows and a barbed-wire fence, is a sign of the old Sunshine

Where graffiti once covered walls, murals and other forms of art now brighten up the streets

‘But if one thing has changed in the last few years it’s the idea of this suburb being a down-and-out area is now gone.’ 

While things have now improved and although they were never pretty, the rise of the Apex gang saw the struggles facing Sunshine grow even more.

‘I think it (Sunshine) did get worse with Apex and certainly if you’re a young person growing up in the area,’ Mr Williams said.

‘If you’re a young person in the area the Apex story can certainly restrain your view… and you feel like you’re confined to the way things are.

‘They feel there is no way to get out of being in poverty, lacking opportunity, being mistreated or targeted by police – they feel that’s just the way things are.’ 

Central to the story of the SBS drama is young Sudanese basketballer ‘Jacob Garang’ who holds aspirations of playing basketball in the U.S.

But when the teenager is caught up in trouble alongside a group of South Sudanese youths, he is taken under the wing and mentored by LaPaglia’s character.

According to Mr Williams, that’s not a reality for Apex gang members.

‘We see with a lot of people we talk to, they are growing up without male role models, often because their fathers or uncles might be in jail,’ he said.

‘There’s a lack of mature role models like you see in the show and when you’re faced with that you’re far more likely to find yourself involved in gangs and violence.’ 

The large new council building and feature artwork have brightened up the Sunshine CBD area

Community centre The Visy Cares Hub is home to many youth works such as Mr Williams’s ‘The Chin Up Project’

In addition to improved infrastructure, a major positive for the Sunshine community in recent years has been cohesion between the diverse mix of different nationalities.

From the much publicised South Sudanese influx to Ethiopia’s, Tanzanians, Maori, Tongans and caucasians, the background of the youth Mr Williams deals with is vast. 

But while his youth program and work at the local social centre ‘The Visy Cares Hub’ is helping troubled teenagers, he says youth gang violence won’t just simply stop.

‘The SBS show showcases a mainly South Sudanese story and when you look at the Apex narrative I think in Sunshine you now find a united community,’ he said.

‘The community in the west of Melbourne – whether it’s South Sudanese, Ethiopian, Tanzanian, Maori, Tongan or caucasian – wants to change stigmas and support one another.

‘But as long as we’ve got young people who are disenfranchised and feel like there’s a lack of opportunities and role models, we’ll have youth crime and offending.’