Video Transcription

Welcome to Follow the Frog Episode 3. We are in Week Two—let’s see what the Froggies are up to!

Let’s see what the Froggies got up to at Leavers.

Neeve: Hey guys, I’m Neeve.
Talia: I’m Talia, and we’ve been in the hotline today.

We had some really cool calls. Um, I myself had someone calling up because he was feeling really down. I think it was like 3 or 4 a.m. I sat there for an hour and a half chatting to this guy, who, I think for the first time, was actually sharing about some really big stuff going on in his life.

That kind of triggered during Leavers’ week. I was able to sit there, speak hope into him, and, like, my heart just kind of broke for the things he was going through. But to be able to support him and hopefully guide him to where he can get more support was a very beautiful experience.

Bye, guys!

Down here at the Gold Coast Walk Home Tent, last night we had an interaction with a schoolie. Let’s hear from the Froggies who actually walked her home.

Jess: My name’s Jess. I’m from Toowoomba, and this year I’m leading the Walk Home Tent in Orchid Avenue.
Ben: I’m Ben. My role here at Schoolies 24 is coordinating the Walk Home Tent with my wife, Jess.

Yeah, so we were just waiting at Chill Out Zone for our tent to be set up. Jack came up and grabbed us, saying he was really concerned. There was a girl being brought out by security guards at a club.

We saw her exit the club with security, and we noticed concern straight away for her safety, as she seemed to be alone. She’d had quite a lot to drink, wasn’t really coherent in what she was doing, and had taken a number of different things as well.

We started engaging in conversation with her. She was a little bit scared, which really raised alarm bells for me. I said, “Okay, come on. Let’s just go back, get a drink of water, and take a seat.” She agreed to come with me initially.

As we were coming out of the line, two guys said, “Oh, we know her. We’ll look after her and get her home safe.” I said, “No, it’s okay. Thanks for being so caring. We’ll take it from here.”

Looking at them, they didn’t really seem like schoolies, so that’s when we thought she could be in some danger. No sooner had we taken about five or six steps than she actually collapsed on the ground.

Luckily, we were able to grab some help from the Late Night Precinct Chill Out Zone guys. We got her to Chill Out Zone safely, and then we heard that she had actually overdosed. Paramedics were able to take her away and keep her safe.

It was one of those right-time, right-place situations. You know, we potentially saved someone from becoming another statistic.

Later, the Chill Out Zone people came up to us and said they’d noticed some bruising on her legs. They were really concerned. Those bruises could have been from previous sexual assault—maybe the night before or earlier in the week. We don’t know.

When Jess and I looked at each other, we thought, “Hang on, there’s probably more to this story.” Knowing that investigators can follow up and provide ongoing support gives us hope that this intervention could brighten her future.

It’s really cool being in this space. Since we’re a bit older, they see us as the parents or the moms. We’ve had multiple girls come up to us regularly now, checking in to make sure we know they’re okay and giving us hugs.

As a father of three girls, incidents like this really hit home. This could be them. That’s how easy it can happen. You just want to make sure that girl is safe and that it’s followed through.

That’s pretty much our role in the Walk Home Tent—to be the eyes and ears on the ground. She didn’t know where she was or who she was at that point in time. There was no way we were letting her out of our sight until she’d been checked over.

We’re here in Byron Bay! Let’s check out what the Frogs have been up to.

[Music]

Participant 1: What has your experience been like so far with the Red Frogs?
Participant 2: So, so fun! They’ve helped out so much. I just love seeing them—they make me feel so comfortable.
Participant 3: Yeah, when I’m in the line and I see them walking past, it makes me really happy. It’s really inspiring as well.
Participant 4: They’re so nice. We feel very safe with them here and really comfortable.

Leader: Schoolies at Byron Bay has been fantastic! Lots of energy, lots of joy, lots of excitement. We’re just having a great time. It’s been such a healthy year. The schoolies have been vibing, we’ve been vibing with them, soaking up the sun, and eating pancakes.

Police Officer: We love having the Red Frogs in Byron Bay. They’re so helpful to the police—feeding tummies with pancakes and helping youth stay a little more sober before the night continues. Without the Red Frogs, it would be a very different celebration.

Thanks for watching Follow the Frog 2024! You’ve been amazing, the volunteers have been amazing, and the emergency services have been amazing.

Big shout-out to all the volunteers who’ve made this one of the safest Schoolies we’ve seen. God bless you, on behalf of all the Red Froggers!

[Music]