Youth Research Qualitative Report - District Council of Mount Barker

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6. Project conclusions and interim recommendations In summary, the findings indicate that young people living in the Mt Barker Council District value living in the Hills; they love the ‘country feel’ and they want to feel proud of where they live. However many young people feel excluded from the wider community because of a lack of amenity, retail, transport, and social planning directed to their needs and interests. While there are a few amenities that are highly valued by young people these are run down and inadequate for current and projected use (Mountain Pool and Recreation Centre in particular). Other amenities such as the library and the Wallis cinema complex are also valued but are clearly not reaching their potential as far as young people are concerned. There is a general consensus among all participants that ‘there is nothing to do’ in the Mt Barker area and there is a clear need for amenity that addresses the casual recreation needs of young people, particularly their need to ‘hang out’ with other young people in their local community in a place that is safe, sheltered from the weather, and offers them some kind of activity and food. The most common suggestions included a bowling alley, a ‘Beach House’ (multipurpose recreation venue), and a youth space where older young people in particular can hang out in the evening, perform or listen to music, play pool and have a coffee or snack. Like other age groups in the community (elderly and young children) the developmental differences and needs of young people need to be considered and planned for. If this does not happen, many young people will become disengaged from the community. Most will withdraw to their home, others will become a perceived or actual nuisance/ threat to other members of the community. Young people like to gather in groups, they are often noisy and frequently oblivious to the affects of their behaviour on others, they need to differentiate themselves from their parents and the dominant culture, and they need to engage in risk taking behaviour as it helps develop physical and social competencies, independence and resilience (Rice and Dolgin, 2008; Woolard and Scott, 2009). During the transition to adulthood, young people need the physical and social support of their families, educators and communities to access opportunities for the safe and healthy development of physical, social, emotional and cognitive competencies. Community planning should aim to create opportunities for young people to engage in these developmentally appropriate activities in a safe and accepting environment. 6.1 General recommendation Develop a planning process that explicitly examines the benefit or impact of any development on young people’s access to opportunities for social inclusion, social interaction, education, extracurricular learning, vocational experience, employment, sport, recreation and entertainment, health 43 Needs assessment of young people in the Mt Barker Council District – November 2009
and social support, independent mobility and agency (citizenship). Addressing the needs of young people in the community benefits the entire community. 6.2 Specific Recommendations Education Facilitate cooperation between schools. Shared resources, inter-school curriculum access, and combined school events, could all contribute to increased academic, extracurricular and social opportunities for students. A community approach to education is also likely to increase equity among the regions students, increase the sense of community in the area and create opportunities for the development of bridging social capital (mutually beneficial relationships between different community groups) Facilitate community education after school hours. Schools could take the lead here by providing a low cost venue for individuals or organisations to run a variety of classes. Council could facilitate the establishment of community education similar to WEA that would benefit the entire community. Particular attention should be given to establishing community education that is interesting and accessible to young people. Employment and vocational experience Increase access to vocational experiences. Facilitated relationships between local government and local business with schools and other youth agencies (jobs network etc) could improve access to vocational experience and jobs for young people. Facilitate employment for disadvantaged/ disengaged young people. Consideration of local employment opportunities that engaged the most disengaged young people. Programs to support employers prepared to mentor young people during the transition into employment. Encourage male participation in VET related to retail and service industries. These industries are growing and young men are more likely to find work in these areas if they see them as acceptable forms of employment and have the relevant skills Lack of youth retail - Incentives for youth oriented retail to locate in the area. Housing Prioritise local access to emergency, medium and long term housing for young people Consider a youth housing co-op (in consultation with young people. This was a suggestion from a young man attending the Vocational College) 44 Needs assessment of young people in the Mt Barker Council District – November 2009
Page 2 and 3: Project Report Young People Living
Page 4 and 5: Contents About the Author .........
Page 6 and 7: access to friends, sport, recreatio
Page 8 and 9: Encourage more retail that appeals
Page 10 and 11: 3. Desk top study of current servic
Page 12 and 13: 3.6 Limitations This study recruite
Page 14 and 15: I used to have drug problems and th
Page 16 and 17: young people living in the region d
Page 18 and 19: The majority of work available to y
Page 20 and 21: off my face and not realise. I slep
Page 22 and 23: a shortage of human resources requi
Page 24 and 25: comfortable or welcoming homes to w
Page 26 and 27: catch the 9:28 bus and sit there fo
Page 28 and 29: Male Yeah but that's already happen
Page 30 and 31: Centre, these amenities are not rea
Page 32 and 33: More entertainment as part of the c
Page 34 and 35: The Big lounge is cool. They play r
Page 36 and 37: was still a strong desire among the
Page 38 and 39: These were also the sentiments of y
Page 40 and 41: Other reasons for not choosing to l
Page 42 and 43: I am aware that there are 13-14 yea
Page 46 and 47: Avoid housing young people outside
Page 48 and 49: Facilitate the integration of activ

Youth Research Qualitative Report - District Council of Mount Barker

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