Community Feed

Youthline Wellington update:

Youthline Wellington has had eight of their members complete the National Certificate in Youth Work level 3 through their partnership with Careerforce, this is the first time Youthline Welington has been able to offer this qualification and they say they are super proud of it.
The eight members of our group are Jayden Ho, Samantha Wedd, Dylan Singh, Helen Davies, Daikyn Nuku, Stephanie Harris,
Maggie Shippam, and Sarah Miller.
Youthline Wellington will also be working with Gateway students who are interested in Social Work, Counselling, Youth Work – or any other career in the social services sector requiring interpersonal skills in a 5 month programme called Youth Delvelopment Programme 2016. The programme aims to develop: self awareness, self management, communication skill and relationship skills. Participants will be able to gain 13 credits toward National Certificate in Youth Work level 3.

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Youth scoops up AUT Scholarship

Youthline National Youth Collective (NYC) member Kinanti Desyanandini, 18, has been awarded the AUT Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship for 2016. She will be studying a Bachelor of Design at AUT starting in February.
“The scholarship is for my tuition at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), and it pays for $6000 a year for 3 years, totalling at $18,000, as I will be studying a Bachelor of Design (BDes) majoring in Product Design at AUT. I got it from a nomination from my school, as my secondary school (Auckland Girls’ Grammar School) is one of AUT’s partners for secondary schools in Auckland.”
She will have access to a student advisor for mentoring in her first year at university.
“I can’t believe that I got this scholarship - I’m very grateful and feel quite blessed and lucky.”
“My advice for other people trying to apply for scholarships would be to just give every opportunity a shot; some scholarships may have a low amount of competition and also don’t be afraid to show your skills, capability, and academic achievements - it’s not bragging, the scholarship board won’t know how awesome you are if you don’t tell them, ”she says.
Youthline was proud to support
Kinanti’s application for this scholarship. Kinanti is a highly active Youthline volunteer. She recently produced a publication for Youthline called Holiday 101: your guide to living #holidaylife to the fullest. The guide offered young people advice about communicating, feelings, dealing with relationships, dealing with family, dealing with relationships and self-care. You can check it out here: http://bit.ly/1JJC7qN

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Evaluating new frontiers in service delivery

Youthline Youth Development Researcher David Anstiss took some time out of his schedule to give us an update on the latest research he has been working on.

Anxiety and mood disorders are the two most common disorder groups suffered by young people in New Zealand. Counselling via digital media appears promising in reducing symptomology, though few studies have evaluated digital counselling media against a face-to-face counselling benchmark.

Youthline have recently produced a paper which compares the efficacy of a self-directed, standardised text-message-based intervention, against equivalent youth client data from an established face-to-face counselling service. Data from the pilot of Youthline’s GoMobile text package was compared to youth client data from Youthline’s face-to-face counselling service.

GoMobile participants’ post-intervention scores were significantly lower than their pre-intervention scores for both anxiety and depression. Youth counselling clients’ post-intervention scores were also significantly lower than their pre-intervention scores for both anxiety and depression. The reduction in pre and post-intervention anxiety scores and depression scores were not significantly different between the two interventions. In short, young clients’ symptomology was significantly reduced regardless of whether they received face-to-face counselling or the GoMobile text package.

Findings suggest that providing digital counselling media could open up possibilities for young people to choose counselling avenues they prefer and which offer flexibility, control, and autonomy. Such avenues have the potential to support young people to a similar extent as more traditional face-to-face alternatives.

GoMobile is free and available across New Zealand. Sign up for the next programme today.

#General #Education

Text research to be published in 2016

The GoMobile text package pilot study will be published in the Children and Youth Services Review early next year.

The pilot concluded late last year with some smashing results.

GoMobile: a text based 10 week program aimed at young people suffering from mild to moderate anxiety and or depression is now fully integrated into Youthline service delivery.

Counsellor Amber Davies says the concept behind the text package came from a realisation that Youthline needed to extend the choices it offered young people for early intervention.

“It’s a combination of therapeutic intervention but much less intensive than having to come into counselling.”

GoMobile is all about choice, flexibility and confidentiality.
“We are so excited about this and all the work we put into it having made a real difference for the young people involved.”
Learn more at http://www.youthline.co.nz/services/goforward/gomobile/

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Jasmin's Youthline story

Youthline Alternative Education student to Receptionist to Youth Worker - Jasmin Albert is one success story that’s going full circle.
“Mum dragged me along to counselling at Youthline, and at that age [13] I wasn’t interested at all, but looking back now I can see how beneficial it actually was.”
The eldest of six, Jasmin was attending Auckland Girls Grammar School (AGGS) where she was stood down for truancy and was sent to the Auckland Secondary Schools Centre.
She stayed there for two terms and then went back to AGGS, but within two days was stood down again with teachers saying she ‘had a problem with authority.’
From there she was referred to Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour Services who then put her onto Youthline’s Alternative Education Programme.
“I enjoyed Alternative Education a whole lot more than school - it was more specialised around what I was interested in and because the class sizes were so small, the learning environment was a much better fit for me.”
After being integrated back into mainstream school, Jasmin made the decision to leave when she turned 16 and was then offered a full time job as Youthline’s Receptionist.
“It’s scary how long I have been involved with Youthline - but I look at them as my other family, the environment is what attracts me here,” she says.
Jasmin left her position at Youthline study a Bachelor of Social Practice at Unitec.
Today, Jasmin is a Full Time Youth Worker at Youthline Auckland Central

#Volunteering #Education

The Good Friends Project

Friends, Imogen Holmstead-Scott and Emerald Wafer, received a $5000 scholarship from Sovereign for their ‘The Good Friends Project’.

Their project aims to provide support and help on Facebook and Tumblr to people who want to support friends in the recovery stages of eating disorders.

“There’s plenty of information on how to identify an eating disorder, but there is very little about what to do to support someone once they get a diagnosis,” Imogen says.

Sovereign’s ‘Be the Difference’ challenge offered young people the chance to submit ideas that would help New Zealanders with their health and wellbeing.

Imogen (21) and Emerald (22) won one of five prestigious scholarships.

Emerald and Imogen want to say a big thank you to Sovereign for helping them bring their idea to life. Without Sovereign’s help, it would have just been an idea
on paper.

#Volunteering #Education

Youth Homelessness Matters Day!

Could you spot a homeless person in this lineup? #youthhomelessmatters

Young people struggling with homelessness face big challenges. But with support from the community, we can help young people and make youth homelessness a thing of the past in NZ.

Here’s how you can make a difference for our homeless youth:

Start a conversation about youth homelessness in NZ. Share these stories and let people know the challenges young people face.

Ask your workplace if they could take a young person on-board.

If you’re a landlord, keep an open mind when you consider who to let your rentals to.

Stop and have a chat with a young person who is rough sleeping. You can let them know that they are always welcome to give Youthline a call, or to pop into Lifewise’s Merge Café on K road.

Donate to Youthline and Lifewise and help end youth homelessness.

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Youth Development Worker Julia Rahui

Hi! My name is Julia - I’m a Youth Development Worker Intern at Youthline Auckland Central, and as part of my job I support the tutors and students in our Alternative Education school.

To be honest, it’s my favourite time of the week.

At the moment we have nine students, but the school can have up to fourteen. The young people come to us if they have been excluded from mainstream schooling, and more often than not they are unsure and unhappy.

At Youthline, the young people continue their academic students through Te Kura (Correspondance School) with the goal of eventually returning to mainstream schooling, work, or further education. As well as academia, young people have courses in personal development and specialty courses such as mixed martial arts and DJ skills.

The best learning opportunities are often outside of the classroom, so we do what we can with our limited budget. This year, that includes an ongoing offsite art project and a regular “Masterchef” cooking programme. We also hope to go on a school camp to Waiheke (for some, it will be the first time on a boat). It’s cool to watch the young people get involved with things that they might not have participated in otherwise. There is a focus on finding out what the young people enjoy doing or studying, and supporting them to pursue these interests further.

Some have had, and continue to have, some very hard days. They bring personal stuff to school with them that can make it hard to concentrate on learning, but for the most part they show up at school, day in and day out. I see their determination and courage all of the time. These young people are so resilient, more than some adults I know.

Going to Alternative Education supports them with a new chapter in their life. At the end of the day, it’s up to them to make the most of their time at the school, and to become the masters of their own destiny. From being unsure and unhappy, I get to watch these young people evolve. I feel so privileged to spend time with them, and watch them learn, develop and grow as individuals.

#General #Education

Youth participation key to good decision making

Youth development organisation Youthline says it is a priority for communities to facilitate meaningful youth participation.

This was one of the driving forces behind a meeting of Youthline’s National Youth Advisory Group, recently renamed the National Youth Collective, (NYC) late last month. A Youth Advisory Group (YAG) is a group of young people who are supported with good training and equipped to provide input and undertake tasks, or who lead projects and campaigns for organisations, services, or initiatives related to youth. It is about giving young people an opportunity to participate meaningfully in things that affect them and helping organisations and services to get it right when working with youth.

Click on the photo for more.

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Community Development Conference

The Community Development Conference is coming up on 18 - 20 February. This conference is bringing together practitioners, academics and students to share their knowledge, research and stories about community development. Volunteering is a key component of community development and we hope to see developments in this discussed at the conference. We are very excited to be working alongside Unitec Department of Social Practice to offer this opportunity!

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Christine Taylor Foundation for Mental Health

We were pleased to meet Barbara Staniforth from Christine Taylor Foundation for Mental Health when she visited our Auckland Central Centre to present a cheque for funding. This support will go towards the pilot of a Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Skills (DBT) programme. DBT skills training will help young people change patterns of behaviour that are not effective, helping them to increase their emotional and cognitive regulation by learning skills to counteract the triggers that lead to reactive states.
This programme fills a gap in community services so we are thrilled to have confirmation of this funding.

#Education#General

YouthLaw Launch New App

You can now access quick legal tips on the go with the new YouthLaw Aotearoa mobile app. Know your rights!

#General #Technology#Education

Understanding and Working with Men and Male Youth

A Youthline seminar series event:

Our culture calls on men to be strong – providers, protectors and achievers. Yet at the same time men are now also expected to be loving and emotionally available to their families and partners.

• What are the main issues for men?
• How are these any different to those of women?
• What do males need when reaching out for help?
• How do we counsel men?
• Who are Essentially Men and how can you use them as a resource?

Facilitator: Mark Bradman from Essentially Men

Mark Bradman is the Programme and Marketing Coordinator for Essentially Men Education Trust. He first started working with men over 10 years ago after he experienced his own personal crisis as a man, father and partner. He has also worked as a volunteer:

• Telephone Counsellor for Mensline (previously part of Lifeline)
• Living Without Violence Facilitator with Man Alive
• Service Team Coordinator for Essentially Men / Men Being Real weekend course.

Day: Thursday, 2nd October
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Venue: Youthline Auckland Central – 13 Maidstone Street, Ponsonby. Pohutakawa Room – bottom floor (Entry is from the street)

Admission is on Koha / gold coin donation basis.

Please register your attendance prior to the seminar by phoning 09 361 4168 or email supportcentre@youthline.co.nz.

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