The Hunter is full of inspiring youth and from April 8 to 17, our youth have been celebrated as part of Youth Week 2016.
Adolescence is a time of change, development, learning and fun.
Adolescence can be tough. It can affect young people differently. But our youth resemble resilience and offer unique perspectives on our communities, change and the future.
"We need to support youths, the next generation of adults, so they can help create the healthy environment we want to live in," Dana Roach, Nelson Bay.
TEENAGER Lara Jukes admits it would be "crazy" if she landed her idea for an app on the Appstore.
But lately she's been learning that anything’s possible as Maitland High gears up for Tech Girl Superhero – a national competition that seeks to tap the creative potential of Australian schoolgirls by unearthing the next big app.
And creative they have been, with Maitland throwing up ideas that even the University of Newcastle concedes would give graduates a run for their money.
Among them is Lara’s idea to build an app to organise all of Maitland’s community events in one place. More here.
"If we could put all of those events in one place, it would be easy to find out what’s going around you. Our generation are really tech-savvy, they don’t always read the newspapers, so something like that could help,” Lara said.
"I am proud that despite some setbacks in the past 12 months, I have completed my Higher School Certificate and a Certificate II Traineeship with the Aboriginal Employment Strategy. I was also thrilled to be accepted in to the University of Newcastle Live, Learn, Grow program," Katrina Young, North Lambton.
"There's definitely a gap [in services] for these kids who don’t have resources available. There’s a long way to go, but at least we’re moving in the right direction. The community now needs to get behind the activities and initiatives for it to keep going...When I asked the kids would they want to get together and plan for more community activities, 99 per cent of them said yes," Harmony Wilson, project officer at One Point – a new partnership between Samaritans, Housing NSW and Partners in Recovery – said.
JACK Merrett would not recognise the young man he was three years ago.
"I was an angry and violent person," said Mr Merrett, who has lived in Hamilton South community housing estate for the past seven years. “I had sudden outbursts of rage, I was snapping and going off at people who hadn't done anything to me.
“Now I’m learning to control my anger, which has helped me feel calmer and happier.”
Mr Merrett, 19, attributes his turn-around to his friendship with Jesse Bulley and his involvement with Hamilton South Jesus Church, which Mr Bulley and Kevin Sawers established in mid 2013. More here.
"There needs to be more open spaces for youth to connect," Ashley Fry
"I hope there's more young people connecting with their culture through learning from elders and sharing stories," Bronny Dyason
