Youth support

Build resilience, stay engaged

Being young isn’t always easy — balancing education with a social life, family responsibilities and relationships, can be stressful. Which is why we work hard to provide young people with the support to live engaging lives and build resilience.

At times, a young person may feel disconnected from their family, isolated from their community or disengaged at school, leaving them feeling alone and misunderstood. UnitingCare works with young people to understand these feelings and learn ways to approach any challenges life may bring.

Here are some of the programs we offer for young people.

Aspire

Aspire is a community-based youth service that works alongside young people aged 12-21 (8-11 years if sibling is 12+ and currently in the Aspire program) to support their hopes and ambitions. The program supports young people at risk of:

• Disconnection from family, community or support networks
• Disengagement with school, training and/or employment
• Harm, including self-harm
• Drug and alcohol misuse
• Involvement with the Youth Justice system
• Homelessness

Our youth workers aim to support young people by encouraging positive connections and communications with family, friends and community. This includes individual support; tailored youth development activities; recreational activities; lifestyle education; community participation; and advocacy.

Young people can contact Aspire themselves, or be referred by service providers, family members, friends, school, police and government agencies.

Discovery Coast Youth Support Service

The Discovery Coast Youth Support Service provides a wide range of services to young people aged 8 to 21 in the Discovery Coast area, when they need it most. We can support you, or someone you know, to connect with family and community, engage in education, training and employment options, maintain safe housing and build skills to maintain your own wellbeing.

Do any of the following situations sound familiar?

• Family and friends don’t really understand me
• School doesn’t feel like the right place for me
• I self-harm, or think about harming myself
• I am homeless and feel like I have nowhere to go

If you would like to talk, we can come to you, at a place where you feel comfortable to have a chat. Our services are also offered in our office, on the phone or online. We can also refer you to other services that may help.