When Youth Officer Lisa May first proposed to create a Youth Centre in the Gosnells area she encountered some suspicion and fear. This was particularly the case for residents located near the proposed Centre.
Through a series of community forums many of those who originally objected are now the Centre’s biggest supporters.
“We established a Youth Advisory Council (YAC) which identified issues affecting young people,” Lisa May said.
“They were mainly concerned about the lack of things to do, poor transport and little information about what was available in the City of Gosnells.
“This apparent vacuum meant many felt they had to travel outside the City to find activities that suited them.
“By giving young people something to do here, we can reduce their boredom and disaffection.”
The Youth Centre gives young people access to the internet, sports facilities, education and training advice, music and a safe place to meet.
Together with YAC, school holiday programs and partnerships with schools, the Drug Action Group and churches, the Centre has given young people a place of their own. It has also given them a voice in what is happening.
“This far down the track, you can see how much the young people on YAC have grown,” she said.
Moreover the changes are apparent to everyone.
“Feedback from the community has been very positive and we get favourable comments from Councillors regarding YAC presentations to Council,” she said.
Lisa May also spends one day per week in a local High School where she is available to hear young people’s ideas and complaints.
She is pleased that young people now take an active role in a range of community activities.
“Last year, during the International Year of Older Persons, a group of Gosnells youth undertook to organise the Seniors Ball,” she said.
“They did an outstanding job organising the decorating and assisting with catering on the night. They even provided an escort service to the car park.”
She said such activities have helped to change the perception of young people.
They have also contributed to the City’s more broad strategies of creating a safer and more livable place.
Other youth programs include the creation of an Aboriginal basketball team, and the involvement of young people with a disability in community activities.
