ROSEMOUNT GOOD SHEPHERD YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES
Page: 1972
Ms CARMEL TEBBUTT (Marrickville) [5.55 p.m.]: I draw the attention of the House to two community organisations in my electorate of Marrickville that do fantastic work providing services and support to children and young people and families. On Saturday I attended an event organised by Marrickville Youth Resource Centre to showcase the services it provides to young people in the Marrickville area and to celebrate Refugee Week 2007. I have enormous admiration for the work of the Marrickville Youth Resource Centre and its director, Julie Robinson. The Marrickville Youth Resource Centre has been providing support and services to people in the Marrickville centre for over 20 years.
It provides recreation, education, cultural and arts programs to young people between the ages of 12 and 24. The centre shows great commitment to young people and creativity and resourcefulness in the way it provides its services. The highlight of Saturday's event was the launch of the new music studio. Marrickville Youth Resource Centre received funding from HBOS Australia Foundation for the studio. That funding has been used to buy new equipment that will enable young people to record their own music. This will provide a valuable and much-needed resource for young people in the Marrickville area. We know the importance of music in young people's lives. The studio will enable young people creatively to express their views and to tell their stories. It will build the self-esteem of young people and provide valuable opportunities for them to learn new skills.
The open day was a great success with food, displays and performances, including the Pacific Islander group performance, a Tai Kwon Do demonstration, and traditional dancing. The event on Saturday was part of a number of events that occurred across Australia as part of Refugee Week. The theme for Refugee Week is the Voices of Young Refugees. Marrickville Youth Resource Centre has a strong commitment to working with young refugees. Refugee Week is an opportunity to acknowledge the amazing contribution that refugees make to Australia and to draw attention to their needs and concerns. Many events have been held in Marrickville as part of Refugee Week, including an all nations indoor soccer competition, a refugee awareness and cultural event, and a mural launch.
Many refugees who have settled in Australia have made Marrickville their home. Often these refugees' experiences have been traumatic. Rarely do they have the chance to make plans for their departure or to say farewell to family and friends. They often flee with only the clothes on their backs and they do not know where they are going. They often have little chance to prepare themselves for life in their new country and frequently suffer severe trauma. I pay tribute to these people who come to Australia and, in exceedingly difficult circumstances, make a home for themselves and their children.
Refugee Week is a chance to highlight the circumstances of refugees and to reconfirm our commitment to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. I congratulate Marrickville Youth Resource Centre on its successful open day and for all it has done for young people in Marrickville. Another community organisation in my electorate that supports children, young people and families is the Rosemount Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services. I recently visited its premises at Marrickville Road to meet with Marcia Cunningham, director of the centre, Sister Noeline White, chairperson of the board, and other staff members. I was very impressed with the breadth of services provided by Rosemount, its willingness to support some of the most marginalised young people, and the staff's dedication and commitment to the work that they do and evidence-based practice.
Under the extremely competent directorship of Marcia Cunningham, Rosemount provides adolescent and family counselling, a sexual assault counselling service, a day program for young people aged between 15 and 17 years who are having difficulty at school, and a study support centre for young people who left school prior to gaining their school certificate. I met some of the young people on the day program when I visited the centre, and they were most enthusiastic about its benefits. The program runs five days a week for 10 weeks, in line with the school term. It includes daily workshops covering topics such as assertiveness and self-esteem, confidence and resilience building, assistance with returning to the school system, and work preparation skills, numeracy and literacy workshops.
The program aims to re-engage young people with education. Many of the young people who are referred to the program have families with a range of complex issues, which can include drug and alcohol abuse, mental health issues and family violence. The teacher on the day program faces the job of engaging students in learning when many have lost their confidence to succeed academically. Programs like this are so important because young people who are disengaged from education are much more likely to have poor job opportunities, poor health outcomes and a lesser quality of life than other young people. If we can pick up these young people at this stage and re-engage them with education and training we are offering them the chance to make a successful transition to adulthood. It is not easy work but, importantly, Rosemount recognises the need for follow-up support, which is provided by the aftercare worker. The Marrickville electorate is very fortunate to have the Marrickville Youth Resource Centre and the Rosemount Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service supporting our community. I pay tribute to both these services.