A leading welfare agency is warning authorities not to cover the causes of the recent Macquarie Fields riots by turning desperate people into demons.
Anglicare chief operating officer Peter Gardiner says many of the people involved are battling feelings of frustration and powerlessness as well as the police.
"Our troubled young people need a future not our condemnation," Mr Gardiner says.
Anglicare has been careful not to condone behaviour that has resulted in rocks and incendiary devices thrown at police for several nights this week.
However the Christian agency's regional manager for Macarthur, Wendy Estell, says Sydneysiders need to appreciate the effect of growing up in an area scarred by systemic, intergenerational poverty.
"These young people feel powerlessness,” says Ms Estall. "They haven’t been taught to see that they can have a future."
The unemployment rate in Macquarie Fields is almost twice the national average and more than 17% of young people are out of work.
"Instead of demonising them, we need to find ways to give them positive goals they can work towards," Ms Estell says.
Anglicare is hoping the community will put more faith in programs than an increased police presence to prevent similar outbreaks in the future.
During 2004 the agency put more than 159 young people through its Job Placement and Employment Training program (JPET).
Half of the participants had issues with physical and emotional violence.
Yet almost a third found employment and more than half went on to further education.
Ms Estell says the result is evidence of caring Christianity at work.
"They are desperately needing to feel a sense of worth that comes through knowing that they are loved and valued by our God. That his love and redemption, so clearly displayed through the cross, is also available to them."
