A GLENORCHY police officer is helping disadvantaged teens to turn their lives around using fitness.
Kick-boxing, fun runs and basketball are some of the tactics Constable Claire Lowe uses to break down barriers with the kids.
For the past year she's run the Mobile Activity Centre, funded by the Glenorchy City Council and Tasmania Police.
Constable Lowe said it was "like a mobile PCYC", targeting children identified by local schools or police as needing some extra guidance.
"I don't go in my police uniform, I go in sports clothes to break down the barriers with the kids," she said.
"I give them a bit of love as well, because there are a lot of kids I come across from very low socio-economic areas. "
Constable Lowe said she had not been aware just how bad the home environment was for some children before starting the program.
She said many of the teens she helped had been smoking since they were 10 and some never ate fresh fruit and vegetables. Others no longer lived with their parents.
"It's been a real eye opener and I'm really proud that I've put some of these kids back on track," she said.
Constable Lowe has worked with more than 30 children individually and hundreds more in group fitness sessions.
Sixteen-year-old Shakanea has been meeting Constable Lowe since March and the pair recently ran the Point to Pinnacle together.
"She got my confidence up and helped me get into fitness," Shakanea said.
"I was going a little bit down the wrong path."
"I didn't realise what I was doing and where I was headed."
She said she had started to value Constable Lowe as a friend.
"I know if I ever need anything, I can go to her," she said.
hannah.martin@news.com.au
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