Youth Work Awards 2022 Nominees
All the amazing shortlisted nominees for this year's awards are described below. A big thank you to all of you who took the time to nominate yourselves, your colleagues, your friends, and some of the great programs and services for young people across NSW. Learn more about the Awards and Conference.
Award categories
- Hall of Fame
- Outstanding Work With Aboriginal Young People
- Outstanding Use of Data and Evaluation
- Outstanding Work With Young People From Diverse Cultures, Backgrounds and Life Experiences
- NSW Emerging Youth Worker of the Year
- Outstanding Partnership
- Outstanding Work With Regional Young People
- NSW Youth Sector Volunteer of the Year
- Outstanding Youth Participation
- NSW Youth Service of the Year
- NSW Youth Worker of the Year
Hall of Fame
Darrel Smith
Darrel has been employed for the past 10 years with Miyay Birray Youth Service an Aboriginal community controlled organisation based in Moree. He has a passion for seeing youth achieve their goals. Darrel has been instrumental in seeing the service grow with forming many partnerships.
Prior to working with Miyay Birray Darrel was the regional manager for the Commonwealth Department of Education Darrel assisted in coordinating youth career expos and trips to help young people think about the future. Darrel has been involved in mentoring and coaching many young people in soccer.
Keira Taggart
Keira Taggart has been an active and passionate youth worker in the Lake Macquarie region for 22 years, working in community youth support and within Hunter Sports High School. Keira was a youth worker within a school before such a thing as student support officer (SSO) existed. She has pioneered the SSO role, advocating for students and their wellbeing, as well as the school staff.
In 2022, Keira completed a Bachelor of Youth Work degree through Victoria University, a huge personal achievement. Balancing study, work and home commitments over a two-year period highlight Keira’s dedication to her practice and the profession of Youth Work. Kiera is trusted and respected by the young people she works with, her colleagues, her community, and the local youth sector. Keira’s contribution to young people and the profession of youth work deserves to be recognised in the NSW Youth Work Hall of Fame.
Outstanding Work With Aboriginal Young People
Deadly Futures Program, Deadly Connections
The Deadly Connections “Deadly Futures School Disengagement program” provides culturally-safe and responsive community-based support for secondary students who have been suspended from school, or those not engaging with school, specifically aimed at First Nations people.
Our program helps to facilitate young people’s engagement with their school journey whilst still supporting their healing and wellness. Furthermore, the project will foster student’s re-engagement with their education following a suspension while increasing protective factors such as cultural connections. Moreover, we aim to ease the reintegration of Indigenous students back into the school community following suspension through a range of targeted, innovative activities. Ultimately, we believe this project is a vital initiative as it has the power to disrupt the all-too-common school to prison pipeline.
By engaging students in a mentoring and role-modelling program, reimagining how we can teach and engage with these children and young people, we are able to break down the factors that are leading to continued suspension.
Miyay Birray Youth Service
Miyay Birray Youth Service provides case management for young people and families with children 18 years and under in Moree and surrounding area.
Our case workers support clients in a number of ways depending on what is happening for them at the time. Often a young person will be allocated their own case worker and work with them to develop achievable goals.
Case management aims to help provide young people and their families with the skills necessary to build resilience in order to overcome the barriers in their lives. Our caseworkers can work with clients who may be experiencing a range of issues including disengagement from education, employment issues, financial hardships and Centrelink issues, drug and alcohol use, physical and mental health issues, family and domestic violence, court and legal issues and family and domestic violence issues.
Moree Indigenous Engagement Officer, Australian Red Cross Australia
Red Cross has employed an Indigenous Community Engagement officer based at Miyay Birray Youth Service, Moree. The position is to assist Aboriginal young people and their families be ready if a disaster occurs.
The goals of the position are to: develop strategies and processes to help Red Cross staff and volunteers support the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people; help develop a Recovery Needs Assessment for Indigenous young people; build on volunteer recruitment and development pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people; deliver preparedness and recovery workshops and training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.
During covid the Australian Red Cross assisted Indigenous young people in staying at home during isolation by delivering food and medical needs and psychological support.
Indigenous Justice Program, Regional Youth Support Service
Regional Youth Support's ('RYSS) 'Indigenous Justice Program' (IJP) supports young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 16 – 18 (and up to 25yrs when needed) throughout the Central Coast region, who are currently engaged in the Justice system or at risk. The program includes: intensive case management support, group skill and capacity building activities ‘Ngaliya’ weekly cultural group, and cultural linking work with dedicated Aboriginal Linking Workers. Young people are engaged both while in custody, as well as in the community, to support goals identified by the young people.
This program has been delivered by RYSS since 2014 and is currently being evaluated in a longitudinal study by the University of Newcastle UoN, and has consistently achieved an average rate of between 80% and 90% of young people supported by the program not going on to engage in further acts of crime.
Start-Up Deadly, Challenge Community Services
Our Start Up Deadly program is an entrepreneurship program for young First Nations people. The goal of the program is for each participant to establish a microbusiness and/or undertake gig economy opportunities. Additional outcomes of the program also support our First Nations young people to secure employment through mainstream avenues. This program is driven by the young person who is supported with training on safety, consumer rights, business skills, communication and social media.
Our participants are young First Nations people aged predominately between 16 and 24. Start Up Deadly is a 38 week course which seeks to establish new forms of employment options according to strengths, interests and abilities of the young First Nations people involved. We are currently running the program in Tamworth and Dubbo internally through our own organisation, and have also supported and provided the program to three Aboriginal organisations who are servicing the areas of Penrith, Newcastle and Gunnedah.
Outstanding Use of Data and Evaluation
Camden Council Youth Strategy
The recently endorsed Camden Youth Strategy (2022-2026) aims to pave the pathway to achieving the Camden community's long-term vision and goals for young people aged between 12 and 24 years. The Camden Youth Consultation conducted in 2020/21, saw almost 1500 young people inform Council of how they want to be supported and what matters most to them. This data has been invaluable in assisting Council to inform, develop and moving forward, implement the Camden Youth Strategy. Camden Council feels privileged to have had such a large number of young people take part in supporting the development of the Strategy. Their voices have resulted in a meaningful Strategy, that feels tangible and will have lasting positive impacts for them across the delivery of the Strategy.
Client Services, Coast Shelter
The use of client statistics by Jessica Nugent in the Client Services role in has been a game changer for Coast Shelter. The role has evolved from a simply intake role, to one of business/client analyst. This work has allowed us to develop far greater insight into young people’s needs and has led us to obtaining funding for youth mental health, men’s drug and alcohol support and other new roles. With 5 Youth Refuges (the larger cohort of youth refuges on the Central Coast), this has been critical in addressing homelessness challenges for youth, as well as building our clinical team to deliver in house specialist support.
Outstanding Work With Young People From Diverse Cultures, Backgrounds and Life Experiences
Youth Solutions
In September 2021 Youth Solutions received a one-off stimulus grant from the NSW Ministry of Health to enhance the capacity of the service overall and accelerate the timeframe to achieve expected outcomes.
We used the opportunity to build greater connections with our region’s Samoan community. People of Samoan ancestry account for 3% of Campbelltown’s population and the Macarthur region is home to more than three times the number of Samoans living in Greater Sydney. The funding allowed Youth Solutions to collaborate with the community to develop and create a culturally safe resource for Samoan parents and carers about how to talk to young people about alcohol and other drugs. It also allowed us to produce a culturally safe, youth-specific and co-designed resource about accessing help for young Samoan people. The final product is a mini poster campaign series which focuses on ‘Helping family’ (tailored to parents and carers), ‘Helping friends’ (tailored to young people) and ‘Helping yourself’ (tailored to individual).
Street Industries
Street Industries (SI) is a culturally safe, grassroots, not-for-profit organisation that works with children and young people. SI offers a range of innovative community-led initiatives that build one's capacity through mentoring, life skills, leadership, and community development.
Street Industries works with young people from disadvantaged & socially isolated communities with a focus on culturally and linguistically diverse communities. SI provides culturally responsive services to those young people whose needs cannot be met through existing services and programs.
Street Industries initiatives aim to improve their protective factors through connection to community, meaningful relationships & tailored support networks, creating an environment where young people turn their disadvantages into advantages, enabling them to reach their full potential.
Street Industries' vision is to create communities with 'streets' of opportunity, solidarity and compassion, where all young people feel valued, supported and empowered to reach their true potential regardless of race, lifestyle or economic circumstances.
Dungeons & Dragons Social Support Program, Mosman Council
Mosman Youth Services aims to engage and empower young people in Mosman by providing young people aged 12-25 who live, work, and spend time in Mosman with support, ways to foster social connections and opportunities for community participation.
The Mosman Youth Dungeons & Dragons program was first piloted in late 2021 as a way for young people to engage and build social connection in a safe online environment to help combat social isolation from COVID-19 lockdowns. Since that time, the program has developed into a hugely successful blended online and in-person program that allows young people from diverse backgrounds and experiences to come together virtually and in-person to build social connection in a safe environment.
The accessibility of the program, being held online and in-person at the Youth Centre, and being marketed as a safe and inclusive space for young people has resulted in a majority of participants identifying as part of the LGBTIQA+ community and a significant portion identifying as neurodiverse.
COMPACT Program, Northern Settlement Services
Mosaic Multicultural Connections’s Northern Multicultural Youth Exchange program is working with multicultural youth to build engagement, relationships, mutual understanding and respect with wider youth and young adults from regional communities including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and mainstream youth. The project will also build a sense of value, identity and belonging in Australia; a strong community of young people from diverse backgrounds; and champions for community harmony.
The NSW Government COMPACT funded program includes:
- One day and multiday youth exchange programs with CALD youth travelling to different regional centres where there are smaller numbers of multicultural youth
- Community building and leadership development embedded in engagement with young people as they travel and engage with the wider community
- Facilitating group engagement in volunteering in the wider community
- Ongoing engagement through face to face and online “communities” to share experiences and reflections, support one another and work towards the wider project goals
Wellbeing Team, Wyndham College
The Wellbeing Team at Wyndham College is made up of teachers, year advisors, deputy principals, school counsellors and support staff who go above and beyond standard practices for the diverse cohort of youth at the college.
Their response during the COVID-19 restrictions saw every young person contacted on multiple occasions to check on their wellbeing and learning, with referrals to counsellors and other support staff made, strategies to encourage non-engaged students, and individual learning and/or wellbeing plans developed and activated. They are consistently searching for new and exciting initiatives to support students and are insightful and caring individuals. They actively live out the Department of Education's Strategic Plan (2018-2022) core statement of "every student is known, valued and cared for".
wyndhamcol-h.schools.nsw.gov.au
NSW Emerging Youth Worker of the Year
Domina Augustine, MYAN NSW
Maria Domina Augustine (She/Her) is an early-career youth specialist in her third year of practice. She has contributed to the mental health, disability and migrant and refugee sectors. Domina has worked with vulnerable communities both through frontline work and case management, always through compassionate practice to provide exemplary support in her different occupational roles.
At MYAN NSW she currently manages an emergency financial relief initiative for young people seeking asylum and other vulnerable temporary visa holders who do not receive Commonwealth government assistance and are experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 across the state of NSW. Significantly, Domina's work is led by and for young people on temporary and bridging visas to be supported.
This work is complex and Domina approaches her clients using best-practice frameworks and a youth-lens that is intersectional, trauma and mental-health informed.
www.myannsw.org.au
Mohammad Sami Zakhil, Northern Settlement Services
Mohammad Sami Zakhil works with Northern Settlement Services (Newcastle Region) & has been in the role of Multicultural Youth Worker since April 2021, funded by COMPACT alliance to promote social cohesion & youth engagement.
Sami has brought a wealth of experience in youth advocacy from his prior work in Afghanistan across all levels from grass roots community programs to national & international government engagement. He has also had previous careers in logistics, business & as an Interpreter. Current multicultural youth projects he is delivering with ages 12-24 include: NSS Northern Multicultural Youth Exchange Program (Including Central Coast, Hunter Region, Armidale & Manning Valley Region); Multicultural Young Adults Group for ages 18-24; Supporting partner of Multicultural Youth Group for ages 12-18; as well as a variety of community-based youth advocacy & engagement programs supporting Afghan young people.
Katie Vellins, Stepping Stone House
Bawaga Program is a new program for Stepping Stone House - based in the Inner West it provides housing for First Nations young people in OOHC. Guided by both First Nations and non -first Nations workers and team the program strives to create a culturally safe space for young people accessing semi-independent accommodation.
Katie Vellins has been a rock of our team since the day she joined the Bawaga program, reliable and driven Katie is an essential support for our young people and a valued and appreciated member of the team.
Lily Hayman, Shopfront Arts Co-op
Lily Hayman is the dynamic, empathetic and creative Young Leader at Shopfront Arts Co-op in South Sydney. As Young Leader, Lily is the enshrined voice for all of the members who call Shopfront home and she uses this role to highlight the wants, needs and idea of the Young People she works with within her organisation and beyond. She was part of the driving force behind enshrining 5 new Youth Advisory Panels at Shopfront which focus on LGBTQIA+ Youth, People Living with Disability, CALD Youth, First Nations People and sits as the Chair of the advisory panel dedicated to Young People whose youngest member is 11. She ensures our Young People can flourish through creative work, talk about issues important to them and become involved in the cooperative by using their voice to create change.
Lily says “Working to support Young People find their own voices has been the most exciting and rewarding thing I have ever done. Young People often feel as though they need to sound more mature to be taken seriously, and teaching them that their perspective and their own words are valuable is an empowering experience for me as well as them."
shopfront.org.au/profile/lily/
Sarah Williams, What Were You Wearing
Sarah Williams is a 21 year old Law student at the University of Newcastle and the founder of What Were You Wearing Australia (WWYW). Sarah founded WWYW in 2021 after experiencing extreme hardship and having been a child sexual abuse survivor.
She established Australia’s first ever exhibition on sexual assault awareness and collected 9976 stories of sexual violence in 2021. At the start of 2022, she created a diverse team of 40 volunteers with the core focus being ending sexual violence, particularly for First Nations people, people living with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ identifying people.
She has run and co hosted 7 community protests, where she marshalled over 2000 patrons. Sarah in 2022, was a finalist for the NSW Young Achiever of the Year Awards, won a local volunteer award from MP Sharon Claydon and recently won Newcastle’s Youth of the Year Award 2022. In August 2022, Sarah established and founded The University of Newcastle’s first ever Survivor Advocates Advisory Group in response to the National Student Safety Survey (NSSS).
Heath Harris, Community First Step
Heath began his time at CFS as a student on placement. He impressed us so much that we offered him casual work. His time as a casual saw him excel and build some really important and strong relationships with young people in our local community. When the opportunity arose to offer him full time, we did not hesitate. In the time Heath has been working as a full-time Youth Worker, he has developed and delivered multiple workshops, has supported a large number of clients in Case Management, become a master at data collection and entry, built strong relationships with local schools and stakeholders, and taken more responsibility in supporting young people at our Youth Drop-In Service.
The Physical Health Workshop is an example of Heath’s work which was a series of 8 workshops he developed and delivered via our Youth Centre. He found that our young people were concerned about their physical health, especially after multiple lockdowns, and sought to develop a workshop that would assist with this. Heath developed the workshop with the assistance and feedback of young people, and (due to overwhelming demand) delivered the workshop to 4 different groups of young people.
Koorine Welsh, Stepping Stone House
Koorine works for the Bawaga Program at Stepping Stone House in the Inner West of Sydney. It is a new program for First Nations young people to live semi-independently while receiving in home youth work and case management support. The program focuses on cultural safety for First Nations young people by leading with a First Nations team of workers supporting them.
Koorine has showed incredible commitment to the creation of the new Bawaga program at Stepping Stone House; turning up day after day to educate her team on cultural safety and giving her all to support the young people in the program. Koorine is growing and giving in equal parts in this commitment and it has been an essential part of the programs creation and development.
Nicholas Bailey, Singleton PCYC
Nick works as an Aboriginal Youth Mentor at the PCYC in Singleton NSW in the Upper Hunter. Nick is a proud Wiradjuri man and works with First Nations young people across the Hunter Valley in an effort to increase their confidence and sense of self and particularly in filling the gap in youth work support which was previously lacking in this region.
Nick is also a member on the NSW Regional Youth Taskforce represents young people from throughout regional NSW and provides policy and operational advice to the Minister for Regional Youth and works tirelessly to consult and elevate the voices of young people in his region.
His day job extends well beyond 9-5pm. During covid Nick saw the dire need for First Nations and other young people to continue to connect with the community and was unable to attend schools to reach young people due to covid restrictions. As a creative solution Nick created a live podcast called Mind your Mob' where he invited young people across the community to come together to hear from other inspiring young First Nations people.
www.instagram.com/mind_your_mob_pod
Niamh Walpole, Cessnock Council
Niamh piloted a new program aimed at engaging year 5/6 students to support their transition to high school. The program included a series of both physical and wellbeing activities that built young people’s capacity, confidence and ability to seek support when required. Outcomes from this program included increased school attendance, increased confidence seeking support and better engagement in schoolwork.
The program expanded to include a partnership with an Aboriginal community youth worker. The program ran with high school girls and had the same focus improving physical and mental well-being.
Niamh also passionately works with young people in a youth centre setting consistently building programs based on young persons’ needs and strengths some examples include a walking group, anime club and lgbtqia+ group. Outside of this Niamh has regularly worked in high schools working to improve young people’s wellbeing running workshops on healthy relationships, drugs and alcohol, smoking and vaping dangers as well as mental health early intervention.
www.facebook.com/CessnockYouthCentre
Outstanding Partnership
National Youth Settlement Framework & University of NSW, MYAN NSW
The Multicultural Youth Affairs Network (MYAN NSW) is a state-wide, specialist youth organisation that supports young people from diverse cultural communities translate community priorities into action. Since our inception in 2014, we have supported young people from migrant and refugee communities build their social networks, access skills and training opportunities and most importantly lead conversations with decision makers on issues that affect their lives.
The Settling In @ Uni partnership was led by Vanessa Chavez with the University of New South Wales and the Refugee Education Special Interest Group. Vanessa's expertise as a youth settlement specialist translated the National Youth Settlement Framework into a bespoke, easy-to-use, practical and plain English training program for one of the state's largest universities.
Building the capacity of university staff to work with refugee & migrant students has critical consequences on the long-term wellbeing of newly arrived young people and their communities. Knowing that culturally and linguistically diverse, migrant and refugee students within university settings have unique needs, Multicultural Youth Affairs Network of NSW (MYAN NSW) and the University of NSW teamed up to create a resource specifically for teaching and support staff, to better support students.
www.myannsw.org.au
Violence prevention education partnership State Govt, ACYP, PCYC, & Local Councils, KYUP!
KYUP! Project is a youth-serving non-profit organization with over 15 years’ of experience delivering gender-specific, out-of-school programming to girls in NSW. Our mission is to empower youth to raise their standards and champion their safety and wellbeing by amplifying their voices, emboldening their courage, and imparting critical life and self-defence skills so they can take on challenges with confidence. Our goals are to 1) Support youth to identify and develop protective skills against violence and its negative effects 2) Prepare youth should they need to defend their boundaries and/or physical safety 3) Build a social-emotional foundation for youth to grow into healthy young adults and leaders 4) Support youth in examining their intersectional identities and issues of equity in their communities.
KYUP! Is committed to providing violence prevention and recovery workshops for at-risk, marginalised and first nations girls in regional NSW. Our ‘school holiday series for remote communities’ is delivered in partnership with State Government, the Advocate for Children and Young People, PCYC and local councils.
Aunty Time “Youth Can't Say That!”, Mosman
Council Mosman Youth Services aims to engage and empower young people in Mosman by providing young people aged 12-25 who live, work, and spend time in Mosman with support, ways to foster social connections and opportunities for community participation.
The Aunty Time program is a collaborative program developed in partnership with a local First Nations organisation The Gaimaragal Group. Aunty Time was piloted in June 2022 as part of the Gai-mariagal Festival and was held in the lead up to NAIDOC week. The program was facilitated by Gai-maragal festival co-chairs Susan Moylan-Coombs, and Caroline Glass-Pattinson in collaboration with Mosman Youth Services and brought together a group of 20 young people attending multiple workshops in the Mosman Youth Services which challenged notions of stigma, and provide a space for healthy discussion of society’s taboo topics.
The program was a rare opportunity to share and collaboratively work to provide healthy tools for building resilience, social & emotional wellbeing while being challenged. Due to the success of the program it will return in Term 4 2022.
Miyay Birray Youth Service and Australian Red Cross
Miyay Birray Youth Service and the Australian Red Cross partnered to establish a position based at Miyay Birray in Moree to assist young people and their families by sharing resources and coordinating services that can help young people in preparation for disasters such as COVID or floods.
Miyay Birray supports the development of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people aged 12 to 18, working directly with young people and with their families and the community. The Red Cross Community Engagement Officer draws on excellent local and cultural knowledge and an ability to quickly assess and respond to needs, and would work to increase community preparedness and recovery capacity.
The goals of the position are to: develop strategies and processes to help Red Cross staff and volunteers support the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people; help develop a Recovery Needs Assessment for Indigenous young people; build on volunteer recruitment and development pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people; deliver preparedness and recovery workshops and training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.
During covid the Australian Red Cross assisted Indigenous young people in staying at home during isolation by delivering food and medical needs and psychological support.
Julia Reserve Youth & Community Centre Youth Service Hub, Camden Council
The Julia Reserve Youth and Community Centre is a youth centre located in the heart of Oran Park that is owned and managed by Camden Council.
The centre operates under a co-located model of service delivery, where multiple youth services work together to provide holistic support for local young people. This service is therefore a collaboration between multiple youth services who work together to ensure young people are supported through cross-sector collaboration and partnership. The centre currently has 7 youth services who operate out of the facility and within the Julia Reserve youth precinct on a weekly basis, in addition to this, there are multiple other services who deliver specialised programs from the centre on an ad hoc basis to ensure young people have a variety of support services available to them whilst at the centre. Since re-opening the centre to its full capacity in April of this year there has been an average of 784 young people who have attended the site per month, with over 1000 occasions of service in the month of July alone.
To view a video of this centre and operating model please go to the following link - https://youtu.be/qkreNopCjO4
Outstanding Work With Regional Young People
SHS/HYAP, YPSpace Kempsey & Port Macquarie
YPSpace supports Young People aged 12-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, across Dunghutti Country in Kempsey and Birpai Country in Port Macquarie, including crisis accommodation and outreach support across both locations on the Mid North Coast.
Through the leadership and amazing YPSpace team, young people now have increased access to practical support such as transport, technology and skills training to support independence. Both crisis refuges now have additional fitness and recreational facilities and young people in crisis accommodation are frequently given outings and experiences that are positive and memorable, including some that are unique but that others may take for granted.
Youth Council Program, Illawarra Centre for Enablement
The Illawarra Centre for Enablement (ICfE) through its inaugural Youth Council of 18 to 25 year olds has demonstrated that youth can achieve great things if they are afforded the time and effort to be constructively guided, encouraged, validated and introduced to the challenges in the communities they live in and which young people face.
The work between ICfE and its Youth Council has occurred during an unprecedented health crisis that has also impacted the young people on the Youth Council. With determination, resilience and courage, incrementally shaped and supported by ICfE, they have focused on how to help youth in the Illawarra navigate the challenges of Covid-19, and in turn identified what government needs to do to assist youth in this crisis.
In line with their Illawarra youth survey findings, the ICfE YOuth Council are now providing connection opportunities for youth to engage socially, an outcome that has come about after working year-long with stakeholders for funding and sharing their vision.
Life Read Program, Coast Shelter
The Life Ready program works with young people aged 17-24 years to help them obtain private rental accommodation. We then provide up to 3 years case management while the young people receive a Rent Choice Youth (RCY) rental subsidy from DCJ.
The RCY program is heavily structured around the young person obtaining stable employment and engaging in education in order to upskill and increase their income. The case management aspect of the RCY program endeavours to assist young people to overcome their identified barriers to engaging in education and stable employment. The overarching goal of the Life Ready program is to work alongside young people with a view to them becoming independent of income and housing services. Life Ready facilitates this by working within an attachment-based, trauma-informed framework to build effective and supportive relationships with clients while they work towards achieving their goals.
Ultimately, Life ready is a life skills program which endeavours to increase the overall capacity of the young people we work with in order for them to lead fulfilling and satisfying lives.
Violence Prevention Education, KYUP!
KYUP! Project is a youth-serving nonprofit organization with over 15 years’ of experience delivering gender-specific, out-of-school programming to girls in NSW.
Our mission is to empower youth to raise their standards and champion their safety and wellbeing by amplifying their voices, emboldening their courage, and imparting critical life and self-defence skills so they can take on challenges with confidence. Our goals are to 1) Support youth to identify and develop protective skills against violence and its negative effects 2) Prepare youth should they need to defend their boundaries and/or physical safety 3) Build a social-emotional foundation for youth to grow into healthy young adults and leaders 4) Support youth in examining their intersectional identities and issues of equity in their communities.
KYUP! Is committed to providing violence prevention and recovery workshops for at-risk, marganialised and first nations girls in regional NSW. We have transformed more than 250 girls lives in the bush.
Becoming U, Uniting NSW/ACT
Becoming U empowers our young people aged 8-18 to unleash their potential and use it to thrive. We work side-by-side with youth in the Nambucca Valley and those important to them, designing together innovative and sustainable projects that create connection, well-being, and life-changing opportunities.
Becoming U operates five unique programs that aim to build belief and capacity so that our young people become work-ready, mentally and physically healthy, and connected to opportunities as well as communities.
Tocal College
Tocal College is situated near Paterson in the Hunter Valley. It provides a unique blend of agricultural training and practical experience for school leavers who may be interested in careers in agriculture. Year 10, 11 or 12 school leavers gain a practical pathway to careers in agriculture or gain credit in a variety of university degrees.
As well as extensive training facilities, Tocal provides a supportive welfare environment for students who are for the most part living away from home for the first time and navigating independence. The College was originally set up in the 1960s as an Agriculture Education setting for “wayward boys”. Much has changed over the years, but the College stays true to giving opportunities to young people who have not found mainstream education to be a good fit and to students who have struggled in other ways.
NSW Youth Sector Volunteer of the Year
Sarah Williams, What Were You Wearing
Sarah Williams is a 21 year old Law student at the University of Newcastle and the founder of What Were You Wearing Australia (WWYW). Sarah founded WWYW in 2021 after experiencing extreme hardship and having been a child sexual abuse survivor.
She established Australia’s first ever exhibition on sexual assault awareness and collected 9976 stories of sexual violence in 2021. At the start of 2022, she created a diverse team of 40 volunteers with the core focus being ending sexual violence, particularly for First Nations people, people living with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ identifying people.
She has run and co hosted 7 community protests, where she marshalled over 2000 patrons. Sarah in 2022, was a finalist for the NSW Young Achiever of the Year Awards, won a local volunteer award from MP Sharon Claydon and recently won Newcastle’s Youth of the Year Award 2022. In August 2022, Sarah established and founded The University of Newcastle’s first ever Survivor Advocates Advisory Group in response to the National Student Safety Survey (NSSS).
Sarah’s work with WWYW is all undertaken in a volunteer capacity.
Jenny Smith, Raise Foundation
Jenny has been a Raise Mentor for the past 5 years at Burwood Girls High School
Raise offers early intervention, evidence-based mentoring for young people in high schools with trained and trusted independent adults. After being part of the Raise village, young people are empowered to be resilient, capable and connected and the adults in their lives are skilled to support them. Raise delivers consistent statistically significant improvements in mental health support, social and emotional wellbeing, and school engagement
At Raise, we place young people at the centre of what we do. Capturing and listening to their voices and the voices of their communities is integral to informing our program design and delivery. Each year we conduct a rigorous evaluation to prove and improve the impact of the program, for the young people who participate, the mentees, as well as the schools that host the programs, and the mentors who volunteer with us.
Ashley Foskett, Little Dreamers
Ashley Foskett is a Little Dreamers volunteer, and most recently volunteered as a Team Leader in our Big Dreamers Personal Development Program. She has also volunteered at other Little Dreamers programs and events.
Little Dreamers is Australia’s leading Young Carer organisation, supporting young people aged 4 to 25 who provide care for a family member affected by disability, chronic or mental illness, substance use, or frail age. Across a range of direct support programs, both in-person and online, the organisation is improving the quality of life of Young Carers across five key areas: education, employment, mental and physical health, social opportunities, and financial wellbeing, with a vision of a world in which every Young Carer is supported by someone or something by 2030. Built from personal experience and qualitative research, the Big Dreamers Personal Development Program runs for six months with a small group of Young Carers aged 14 to 18.
Lakshmi Ranjendran, Campbelltown Headspace
Lakshmi is a motivated young person who, in the 12 months since she joined the headspace Campbelltown Youth Reference Group, has contributed significantly to every initiative and event. She is a Year 12 student who is driving the improved delivery of mental health and well-being initiatives to young people by their peers.
Fatima Raza
Fatima is the NSW Youth Ambassador for the Multicultural Youth Affairs Network (MYAN) which is the national peak body representing the rights and interests of young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
She advocates and works to influence the national agenda for young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Being a youth ambassador she helps provide a perspective of young refugees and migrant Australians to MYAN Australia. This perspective and advice is also provided to the Government which is used to impact law reforms and so much more.
She is also an ambassador for the NSW Equity Consortium which is a joint initiative involving UTS, UNSW, and Macquarie University, in partnership with six high schools in Western Sydney. She part of the Bravehearts Youth Advisory council which is involved in preventing child sexual assault, a global youth ambassador for Theirworld which is focused on United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4, a student ambassador for Movember, is part of the executive team of the Macquarie United Nation's Society, and is involved in her local mosque and volunteers whenever needed.
Emily Unity
Emily is a youth advocate who is passionate about creating sustainable, effective, and meaningful change for diverse young people who have often been systematically oppressed.
They have done this through the lens of lived experience engagement and have focused on marginalised and minority identities, who are often most at risk, particularly young people, culturally diverse people, LGBTIQA+, carers, and more. Most recently, their work has included establishing a Youth Engagement Strategy with UNICEF. Through this, they have ensured that young people’s lived and living experiences are at the forefront of anything that affects them.
They have also been instrumental in working with Headspace, ReachOut, and the National Mental Health Commission in amplifying youth voices. Furthermore, they have founded their own company Multicultural Minds to raise awareness of multicultural mental health lived experience. Emily is an active advocate for the idea of “unity in diversity” and has championed diversity and inclusion within lived experience spaces.
Outstanding Youth Participation
Youth Ambassador Program Re-Imagining, MYAN NSW
MYAN NSW are specialists in youth participation regarding young people from migrant, refugee, and cultural community backgrounds. MYAN NSW underwent an evaluation of their flagship participatory program The Youth Ambassadors Program (YAP) to take this work onto its next phase and cement its industry leading knowledge into a replicable model.
Acknowledging the dynamic and ever-changing needs of young people, particularly humanitarian entrants, translating the complexities of emerging barriers to participation, and the shifting needs of young people into a workable youth governance model which has increased cultural safety parameters, embedded reflexive practices, and ensured smooth pathways for young people to participate and advocate for their own interests.
Guided by the National Youth Settlement Framework, and co-designed with young people, the project looked keenly at how the nature of youth participation has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of technology, and new barriers that have emerged for young people in their experience of the last 5 years of our work.
This new way of working is ground-breaking in its ability to foster youth participation and respond to young people’s needs on their terms.
www.myannsw.org.au
What Were You Wearing
WWYW Australia is a survivor- led community organisation focusing on providing education, awareness and advocacy on sexual violence. WWYW has collected over 10,000 stories of survivors over the past 12 months. They have held 8 protests to date, with all of them having a average attendance of 2000 people.
They hold regular workshops for survivors, events to create awareness about sexual violence and work closely with various institutions such as the University of Newcastle. WWYW in 2022 has partnered with many festivals to create a safe space for patrons and help any one with issues around sexual violence, these include; Groovin the Moo, FOTSUN, The Fisher Festival, Autonomy Day UON, Pride by Night Festival, Pride by Day festival and 3 Spilt Milk events. WWYW has also started a survivor packs initiative in August 2022. These are free and delivered packs to survivors that include; journals, pen, teddy bear, self care items and resources.
WWYW over their time regularly fights for the rights of First Nations people, LGBTQIA+ identifying people and people living with disabilities.
Streetgym, The Y NSW
Streetgym is an inclusive youth outreach program focused on improving the physical and mental wellbeing of all young people. We do this by providing free fitness and recreational activities, along with pathways to other services and programs that support, encourage and build confidence in young people.
It is a universal, prevention program aiming to address issues early and support young people to make healthy choices to improve their social skills and teamwork, thus enhancing their wellbeing. It provides a unique environment to establish important relationships and increase connection to their community. Young people develop self-esteem, empathy, resilience and critical ‘soft’ skills such as problem solving, team building, initiative and self-management.
www.ymcansw.org.au/community-services/youth/streetgym/
Young Creatives Program, Inner West Council
Young Creatives is an annual writing and art competition which aims to nurture and create opportunities for youth in creative industries, provide professional connections to creative networks and engage with the library collection.
Young Creatives launched in 2017 for ages 12-18. Now in its fifth year, youth participation with the Awards has increased by 586% from the inaugural program and has expanded to include ages 19-24. Workshops designed and delivered by the previous winners now provide young people with fresh inspiration in a peer-led supportive environment. Judges are high profile, local professional authors and artists.
Paid opportunities for participants have extended across Council – A previous winner was employed to photograph Youth Week activities. Another was engaged to create artwork for Youth Week 2022 marketing collateral. The Young Creatives project has also produced positive outcomes beyond Inner West Council, with some engaged as youth advisory leaders that have helped shape the strategic direction of library services to young people.
Empower Me
Empower Me Program is a local NFP organisation that runs local programs, workshops, and camps, for children and youth between the ages of 8-17. We cover areas from Illawarra to Ulladulla. Each year we host specialised programs and camps that encompass the four key elements of the Empower Me Program; Connection, Kindness, Resilience, and Self-esteem.
With a focus on nature, sustainability, and the creative arts, the qualified and experienced mentors plan fun, engaging, and educational workshops that promote optimal physical, health, and well-being. Our overarching goal is to reduce mental illness in children and youth across Shoalhaven.
NSW Youth Service of the Year
The Street University
The Street University build safer communities by providing opportunities for disadvantaged young people. They are non-residential treatment centres based throughout NSW, ACT and Qld that help those aged 12 – 25 with drug, crime and mental health issues. There are three sites in NSW: Penrith, Liverpool, and Mt Druitt.
Each centre is unique and is a safe environment where young people can engage in a variety of life-skill and creative workshops in areas including art, music, dance, audio engineering, videography, photography, Pacific culture, Indigenous culture, LGBTQIA+ support and more. Evidence-based counselling is available to help our youth reduce their drug use and involvement in crime and to improve their mental health and wellbeing.
The Linking Together Centre, Best Employment Ltd
The Linking Together Centre is based in a central location in the middle of a government housing estate, in regional NSW. There are a multitude of services that are delivered from the Linking Together Centre, to support disadvantaged community members including young people. Some of these include Casework Support, Helping Hands Program, Suspended Students Program, Breakfast Club, Homework Centre, Sewing Group, Emergency Relief, EAPA, Supported Playgroup, the SecondBite program and public access to computers and phones.
In conjunction to this we have services conduct outreach programs from our service to support the community, these include Inverell Family and District Services, Aboriginal Community Health, Armajun Aboriginal Health, Youth Justice and private practitioners for speech and occupational therapy. The Centre collaborates and works closely with local schools, police, health services and other community support services to ensure disadvantaged community members, many of whom are Aboriginal, are receiving a high level of support services.
Julia Reserve Youth and Community Centre, Camden Council
The Julia Reserve Youth and Community Centre is a youth centre located in the heart of Oran Park that is owned and managed by Camden Council. The centre operates under a co-located model of service delivery, where multiple youth services work together to provide holistic support for local young people.
This service is therefore a collaboration between multiple youth services who work together to ensure young people are supported through cross-sector collaboration and partnership. The centre currently has 7 youth services who operate out of the facility in addition to this, there are multiple other services who deliver specialised programs from the centre on an ad hoc basis to ensure young people have a variety of support services available to them whilst at the centre.
Since re-opening the centre to its full capacity in April of this year there has been an average of 784 young people who have attended the site per month, with over 1000 occasions of service in the month of July alone.
To view a video of this centre and operating model please go to the following link - https://youtu.be/qkreNopCjO4
KYUP!
KYUP! is an evidence based series of trauma informed workshops providing self-worth and self defence life skills in schools, shelters and community organisations. Content is designed in collaboration with experts in Policing, Psychology, Education and Martial arts.
KYUP! was established in response to increased reports of child abuse and sexual assault against girls and women in greater Sydney. Since 2021, KYUP! Project has partnered with Regional NSW, the PCYC and NSW Police to empowering girls and young women aged 12 - 22 in regional New South Wales.
KYUP!’s goals are to: 1) Support youth to cultivate protective factors against violence and its negative effects 2) Prepare youth should they need to defend their boundaries and/or physical safety 3) Build a social-emotional foundation for youth to grow into healthy young adults and leaders 4) Support youth in examining their intersectional identities and issues of equity in their communities.
KYUP! currently delivers programming to over 300 girls, those who identify as girls, and non-gender-conforming youth ages 12 - 22 in regional NSW.
Maya Cottage, Coast Shelter
Coast Shelter is a Specialist Homelessness Service on the NSW, Central Coast. Maya Cottage is one of five Youth Refuges managed by Coast Shelter. What sets Maya apart from our other youth services is our target group: young women aged 12 – 24 years.
Maya’s success as a program is the underlying trauma informed practice framework within which all staff work. As a service, we believe the young women’s connection and experience with the staff is the most important factor in our delivery – as usually clients come to us with complex trauma backgrounds.
This focus on building rapport and a positive, consistent connection affords us the clients’ trust so that we can work on the needs that compel them to seek our service. This could be, but is not limited to, domestic violence, sexual abuse, family breakdown, substance use and neglect. Our program takes place within a home environment where living skills are modelled and explicitly taught.
Little Dreamers
Little Dreamers is working towards an equal world for Young Carers, delivering programs aiming to improve their quality of life. A Young Carer is defined as anyone under the age of 25 who provides care for a family member affected by disability, chronic or mental illness, substance use, or frail age. With 1 in 10 children in Australia giving up their childhood to provide unpaid care to a family member, Little Dreamers delivers fun, empowering and proactive support programs to reduce the risk factors that they face and increase their life opportunities.
Running for 13 years, with almost 50 permanent staff and 150 volunteers across NSW, VIC and QLD, Little Dreamers programs have been developed by Young Carers for Young Carers. Providing wrap-around support for Young Carers, their programs include Dream Experiences; school holiday programs; mentoring and tutoring; in-school education and training; an online peer support platform; in-person peer support groups; and the Big Dreamers Personal Development Program.
Big Yellow Umbrella
Big Yellow Umbrella support young people and children in the Macarthur region by providing holistic, engaging and non-judgmental support. BYU consult with young people in schools and the community to ensure they are providing services and program that young people themselves are identifying as a need. BYU provide some of the following services to Youth: - Early Intervention Case Management - LGBTQIA+ Youth Advocacy Group which meets weekly - School Workshops addressing current issues facing young people, like healthy relationships, bullying, maintaining sexual safety, art and expression, resilience, and more! - Youth Drop-In group across multiple locations - Parenting workshops - Sports workshops for young people - Supported Playgroups - Food relief We are most proud of the recent presence we have built up at the Julia Reserve Youth Community Centre. Engagement has increased since supporting young people in the centre, and young people have provided us positive feedback about feeling safe, feeling heard and feeling supported at the centre.
NSW Youth Worker of the Year
Sarah Berry, Hunter Sports High
Sarah Berry has been a Youth Worker for seven years. For the past 12 months, she has been an essential addition to the Hunter Sports High School Wellbeing team, working as a Student Support Officer. Sarah has brought with her a wealth of knowledge, networks and skills obtained through her previous role as the Lake Macquarie Youth Development Officer at CALM. As a former Art teacher with the Department of Education, Sarah understands the systemic issues and concerns of a school, which enhances her knowledge and skills of the needs of the young people within the school system. Sarah is an advocate for the Youth Work sector and its professional practices. Sarah is in the process of completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Youth Work through Victoria University.
Stacy Jacobs, Cessnock High
Stacy has just completed her tenth year as the Student Support Officer at Cessnock High School. Although this is her paid role, Stacy goes above and beyond expectations at all times including volunteering on a range of committees and supporting young people.
Stacy assists local young people gain independence, personal growth and increased capacity through a variety of paid and voluntary roles within the community. Stacy’s capacity, persistence and determination seems limitless along with her pursuit for excellence in the field of Youth Work. Through her time with the Department of Education, Stacy has refined the programs supports and services within the school to more holistically support the needs of young people. Stacy established a youth hub within the school which sees over 600 occasions of service in a week, connecting with young people to support their ongoing development and wellbeing.
Stacy shows great leadership mentoring social workers, youth workers and SSO's across the state. Stacy continues to work within the school and the community increasing mental health literacy through courses of youth mental health first aid.
www.facebook.com/chssso, cessnock-h.schools.nsw.gov.au
Vanessa Whitton, Upper Hunter Shire Council
Vanessa Whitten joined Youth Services team at Upper Hunter Shire Council approximately 5 years ago, bringing forward a range of specialised skills from her years as a School Learning Support Officer at Denman Public School.
In her roles of Youth Worker, Youth Projects Advisor and Early Intervention Officer, she has profoundly influenced hundreds of rural young people and their families. Vanessa is tireless in her efforts to support the young people of the Upper Hunter. She combines an innate ability to respect young people from all walks of life, with a genuine lack of judgement. As a result, she has a remarkable ability to make a vulnerable young person feel safe and seen.
She works extremely hard, she is an outstanding advocate for our young people, but most of all, she listens. In all her programs and activities, it is clear that she is flexible and will cheerfully adapt content and delivery style to accommodate different individuals and groups. She has built strong, enduring relationships with young people, their families, other service providers and members of the community.
Beck Johnston, Regional Youth Support Service
Beck is a passionate dedicated caseworker who advocates strongly in supporting child youth and families under the DCJ TEI program. This program aims to provide support to vulnerable children, young people and families to stop problems escalating and to reduce the likelihood of children and young people entering or remaining in child protection and out of home care.
She has worked with Regional Youth Support Services for 12 years on the Central Coast where she lives and has an extensive knowledge of the area attending Interagency, forums, collaborations and networking. Beck works with young people in a strengths-based client focused, trauma informed lens to ensure they can access services to address all their needs to allow access to safe, secure, affordable housing. Beck has an extensive knowledge of local services to ensure young people and their families are supported. Beck designs, develops and delivers Living Skills, parenting and life skills programs to support these young people with skills to live independently with their families.
Patrick O’Meara, Camden Council
This nomination is for Patrick O'Meara (PJ) in his role as the Community Project Officer - Youth at Camden Council. PJ is a passionate youth worker. He continuously goes above and beyond in supporting young people aged between 12-24 years within the Camden Local Government Area (LGA). He has a wonderful ability to build rapport with young people and facilitates safe, fun and inclusive programs, events and spaces for youth. PJ is a strong youth advocate, providing a platform for youth voices to be heard at the Local Government level. He is a positive role model and acts as an empowering figure within all areas of the youth portfolio that he manages.
www.camden.nsw.gov.au/community/support/young-people/
Mel Thomas, KYUP!
Pronounced KEY-UP! and named after a martial arts power shout. KYUP! is an evidence based series of trauma informed workshops with a twist. Its programs have been developed in consultation with girls aged 14 - 16 years in metro and remote communities.
KYUP! Was founded by mother of 2 girls and 2 x Australian Martial Arts Champion, Mel Thomas. Mel is a survivor of childhood family violence and continued the cycle into her early relationships. In 2013, Mel successfully applied to Layne Beachley Foundation for seed funding. KYUP! Was established in response to increased reports of child abuse and sexual assault against girls and women in greater Sydney.
Its programs have been developed in consultation with girls aged 14 - 16 years in metro and remote communities. KYUP! Content is designed in collaboration with experts in Policing, Psychology, Education and Martial arts.
Since 2021, KYUP! Project has partnered with Regional NSW, the PCYC and NSW Police to empowering girls and young women aged 12 - 22 in regional New South Wales.
Josh Singh, Stepping Stone House
Residential Program at Stepping Stone House offers 24hour care for YP aged 14 - 18 in OOHC. The program focuses on therapeutic, person centered support to create a safe space where YP can be supported to be themselves.
Josh Singh has been a corner stone of the Residential Program for many years now, dedicating his evenings, weekends and week days (variously) to the support of the YP in the program. Josh brings to work kindness, humour and deep embodied respect for the young people he works with.
Josh's dedication has supported not just the young people in the program he works in, but the team around him who have been variously inducted, trained and supported by him, but also who can rely on his professional and reliable as well as unconditional warm regard for all in the service. Josh is an asset to the young people and the team.
Skye Tasker, The Girls Refuge
The Girls Refugee supports young girls and nonbinary people who are in need of crisis accommodation and case management. The refuge works to provide appropriate interventions with families for YP to be able to return home where appropriate or for YP to be connected to longer term independent or transitional accommodation options.
Skye Tasker has worked tirelessly across several organisations (Caretakers Cottage as well as The Girls Refuge) to cultivate safe, authentic and deeply humanising relationships and culture for the YP accessing the programs she supports. The sense of safety and respect she leads her dynamics with is second to none and truly offers a reparative and therapeutic model of professional and personal relational care. Her practice is exceptional, her dedication huge. Additionally in her academic world she prioritises collaborative and democratic research around the rights and best practice for YP consultation in issues relating to YP’s health and wellbeing. This ethos permeates her whole work approach and is an asset to every team and organisation she is a part of.
Sarah Callaghan, Canterbury Bankstown Council
Sarah is a passionate and selfless youth and community development specialist, and she is the Youth Development Officer for Canterbury Bankstown Council (CB City). Sarah’s role is dedicated to supporting and empowering over 65,000 young people and youth services across CB City, the largest and one of the most culturally diverse local government area in NSW.
Sarah has a proven track record of supporting the most disadvantaged young people in all her roles within Local Government & NGO space. She uses a culmination of her professional and lived experience to advocate for young people, workers and the Youth Work profession.
www.cbcity.nsw.gov.au/community/community-services/young-people
Will Doran, The Centre Kurri Kurri
Will Doran is a highly effective Youth Development Officer at The Centre Kurri Kurri. With extensive experience in Development work and direct supports to young people and their families, he is especially knowledgeable around youth in the DCJ system.
Will has been a Youth Development Officer for 4 years and prior to that co-ordinated Cessnock Council’s Youth Programs for 10 years. He works at the Centre at Kurri Kurri based in the Cessnock Local Government Area with families in low socio-economic circumstances.
www.thecentreatkurrikurri.com.au/youth/support-development
Orhai Barkho, Bossley Park High School
Orhai is a Student Support Officer at Bossley Park High School and works with a diverse range of students from cultural backgrounds and different trauma experiences. She has created outstanding Junior Engagement programs for students to work on social skills, group sessions, masculinity for boys, and femininity and being strong for females. These students also volunteer at aged care centres and build positive relationships with these patients.
Frank Pritchard, Patrician Brothers Fairfield
The First Nations program is a support program for Indigenous students at Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield. It encourages Indigenous students to explore various career paths through TAFE courses and guest speakers to share their life stories. The program provides opportunities to access and succeed in secondary education and beyond.
Frank Pritchard who coordinated the program has enriched his students with experiences to connect and strengthen their cultural awareness. He provides the students with TAFE short courses allowing them to experience tertiary education. Frank has provided guest speakers to be able to share their own knowledge and expertise in career paths, traditions and customs. Frank has engaged the students in a school to work program which has allowed them to explore an array of vocations. Through the program, Frank has created relationships between First Nations students of different year groups allowing them to culturally connect with one another.
Debbie Clifford, Stepping Stone House
Stepping Stone House Independent Living Program offers young people who have been with the Stepping Stone House residential teams (Residential - 14 - 18, or Semi Independent Living 18 - 24) out reach case management so that a relationship with the organisation and teams that they already know and who already know the YP can be extended when the YP transition into community programs and housing.
Debbie has given her all to her role as a case manager in the Residential Program over the last 5 years. Her heart and skills have been an invaluable contribution to the therapeutic and person centered values and practice of the Residential Program at SSH. Now as Debbie takes on the role of senior case manager for the independent living program for SSH she is extending her support for young people in the program and continuing her years of support and dedication for her clients.