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Young Tasmanians living in regional areas experience unique obstacles as they grow up, including isolation from city services, limited educational and employment opportunities, and constrained social networks.
Tasman Council launched its Life is for Living – a Youth Strategy Development project to support young people’s transition to meaningful, healthy, happy and productive adult lives.
A Lift Local Grant funded consultation for the project. An external consultant spoke with a range of current and former high school students, service providers, employers, community volunteers and councillors. They asked them about various aspects of being young in the Tasman Peninsula region, exploring topics such as mental health, socialisation, transportation, services, education, employment and recreational opportunities.
The consultation helped to identify a range of issues and recommended actions, including increased investment in mental health support, new public transport services to connect young people to town, training programs to support work readiness and build life skills, and new opportunities for socialising and recreation.
Tasman Council then developed a new strategic plan to address needs for the youth in the region.
The strategy has led to the formation of a Youth Advisory Committee, allowing young people to have a direct influence on shaping the support and services they need.
Tasman Council’s Community Services Officer, Julie King, says this process has shed light on critical areas such as mental health needs, the need for safe spaces, transportation challenges, and the essential programs and skills that young people need as they become adults.
‘The success of the grant in empowering the Council to address critical issues faced by youth in the region underscores the significance of such initiatives in driving positive change and creating a better future for the community,’ Julie said.