Youth Research Qualitative Report - District Council of Mount Barker

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Encourage more retail that appeals to young people - clothes, accessories, shoes, music, games, fast food (healthy and cheap). Such retail will also provide more employment opportunities for young people. More green space in central areas - somewhere pleasant, central and visible to hang out with friends More spaces for young people in existing amenities such as the library, Recreation Centre, Mountain Pool, mall and cinema complex Encourage the development of commercial recreation facilities such as a bowling alley (extremely popular), go cart track or ‘Beach House’ recreation park. Address the housing needs of disadvantaged young people. Conclusion Young people represent a significant proportion of the Mount Barker Council District population. The consequences of inadequately resourcing young people are felt across all sections of the community. Young people find it difficult to access opportunities that ensure a healthy and productive transition through adolescence into adulthood (opportunities to be seen and heard, for peer and intergenerational social interaction, for sport and recreation, for extracurricular activities, for vocational experience and employment and for appropriate levels of independence); Parents and other householders experience increased financial and time demands as they attempt to compensate for inadequate amenity and transport; communities are diminished by the absence of young people in the social and political fabric of the community; and community security (actual and perceived) is eroded when bored or powerless young people act against their alienation. This report should be read in conjunction with the survey report and the service review being conducted for the same purposes. The survey report presents findings from a quantitative survey of young people and parents of young people living in the Mt Barker Council District; the service review reports on a desk top study aimed at identifying strengths and gaps in service provision for young people in the Mt Barker Council District. 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 and social support, independent mobility and agency (citizenship). Addressing the needs of young people in the community benefits the entire community. 7 Needs assessment of young people in the Mt Barker Council District – November 2009
2. Background 2.1 Introduction Mount Barker as a district within the Hills region has been noted formally as having the fastest rate of population growth over a sustained period in South Australia. This growth has had a significant impact on the hard and soft infrastructure within the district. In response to this growth, Mount Barker has emerged as the Hills regional hub for program and service provision. A quarter of the district’s population is in the 12-25 yrs youth cohort, with a further significant and according to future projections, rising population in the 7-12yrs cohort. As a result of this growth, the demands on infrastructure for young people has exceeded supply and created the need for a broader, more responsive infrastructure base to meet the developmental needs of young people. In response, the District Council of Mount Barker has undertaken to produce a Youth Development Action Plan with the aim of addressing the current and future needs of young people. Intersection: A Youth Development Action Plan 2009-19 is the District Council of Mount Barker’s strategic response to addressing the current and future needs of the district’s young people. As an action plan document, Intersection will detail the Youth Strategic plan for the next 10 years. It will be informed by a multi method needs assessment project conducted in three study phases. 2.2 Purpose of the project The purpose of this three phase project is to assess the needs of young people aged 12-25 years living in the Mount Barker Council District in order to inform the district’s Youth Strategic Plan: Intersection. Qualitative and quantitative data will be collected from young people, some parents and service providers to ascertain the physical and social infrastructure needs of young people in relation to housing, employment, education, transport, recreation, social interaction, retail and service provision. The data will be analysed in order to highlight current and future needs of the districts young people. Interim recommendations will be made that will inform the strategic direction of Mt Barker Council in relation to a number of areas of need and with reference to existing service provision. The project comprises three phases of data collection: 1. Focus groups with adolescents aged 13-19yrs attending secondary education in the Mt Barker Council District. 2. Survey of young people aged 12-25yrs living in the Mt Barker Council District. 8 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 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 44 and 45: 6. Project conclusions and interim
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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