Published: 12 July 2024

Seeing young people at a skate park certainly isn’t uncommon. Seeing a bunch of comfy pillows and colourful mats scattered nearby might make you pause a moment but you’ll soon be seeing a lot more of it thanks to our new youth van.

The van has replaced Eurobodalla’s Youth Cafés, giving Council’s youth team the ability to take their show on the road. Youth development officer Ashley Darby said the van helps remove a big barrier to the team’s engagement with young people – transport.

“There’s a lot of disparity in this shire and transport is a big problem for young people. We developed this alternative approach so we go to them rather than them to us,” says Ashley. “We got the van last year to provide recreational activities at the Bay on a Wednesday. We’re coming soon to Narooma on a Thursday, with more destinations planned as we get rolling.”

Ashley said van activities were determined in collaboration with Council’s Youth Committee; kids want an unstructured environment where they come along and feel comfortable doing different activities. This easy-going approach allows the youth services team more time to focus on providing that safe space where kids are able to express themselves.

“We can see over time that if something’s going on in a young person’s life, even if they’re not comfortable speaking about it at school or home, they’ll still come to see us and let us know because we’ve built that trust,” says Ashley.

“They know they can turn to our staff as a safe and responsible support network.”

• This story was first published in Council’s quarterly newsletter for residents, Living in Eurobodalla. A printed edition is delivered to Eurobodalla's 26,000 households.

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