In Tasmania's Derwent Valley, a new partnership is aiming to better support young people in the community. The council says while instances of anti-social behaviour and youth crime can steal the spotlight, the positive stories aren't breaking through. It's something these groups are determined to change.
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00:00Every week, this community space is a flurry of activity, as Kids in the Valley runs an
00:10after school care program.
00:12It's just about providing all that social and emotional learning.
00:15The organisation plans to expand its services to teenagers aged up to 18, and is now working
00:22with other groups to better help the region's young people.
00:25Youth themselves have asked for safe spaces to go out, whether it be art, whether it be
00:29music, whether it be drumming, all those sorts of activities.
00:33We want to provide it so that they're actually safe with what they're doing.
00:37The Derwent Valley Council-led collaboration was inspired by the concerns of local young
00:42people, who said they were worried about education, safety and wellbeing.
00:48It aims to get youth-focused services talking to each other and identifying gaps.
00:53And encouraging networks and getting those conversations going to see what plugs in where.
00:59The local mayor wants to shift the narrative, with headlines about anti-social behaviour
01:04and youth crime too often taking the spotlight.
01:07Off the back of the last few years, there's been almost an us versus them narrative.
01:11The hope is that in supporting our youth, in hearing their voice, in giving them these
01:16opportunities, some of those behaviours may well change.
01:22The local high school is keen to play its part.
01:25It's both a matter of hearing what young people are saying, but also making sure that you're
01:29giving them tangible evidence that you're doing that.
01:32Being a teenager and going through literally everything, you can feel like you're on your
01:36own, you can feel like you have nothing, you can feel like everyone's against you.
01:39And so having a community to come to and hang out and do stuff is very beneficial.
01:44The council hopes this collaboration will help give local young people the tools they
01:48need to thrive.
01:49But it says providing training and job opportunities is also essential, and will need investment
01:55from state and federal governments.