NEPEAN ADOLESCENT AND FAMILY SERVICE
Reverend the Hon. Dr GORDON MOYES: On 3 February 2004 I took part in the opening of Wesley Mission’s Nepean Adolescent and Family Service, based in Penrith. The honourable member for Penrith, Karyn Paluzzano, was also present. Wesley Mission’s operations in the area have grown to five offices and about 30 staff since I started the first office 15 years ago. This new service is the result of the restructure of the family therapy teams and a merger with the family counselling service. The merger has resulted in a stronger approach to early intervention in youth homelessness in the area and to the difficulties that families can experience at those times. I place on record my appreciation of the Department of Community Services, which has been involved in funding this initiative.
Nepean Adolescent and Family Service covers the Penrith, Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains local government areas. The total youth population in the area is estimated to be 45,000. Penrith has the fastest growing youth population in Australia; in fact, it will have the largest youth population in Australia within the next five years. I understand that more than 40,000 children in the area are aged between 8 and 12. Wesley Dalmar Child and Family Care’s services are directed at young people between the ages of 12 and 18 who face deteriorating relationships with their parents and carers, adolescents experiencing emotional, sexual or physical abuse, young people dealing with blended families, young homeless people and young people who have adopted a self-destructive lifestyle.
Youth homelessness has been recognised as problematic in all three local government areas. However, when the Nepean Adolescent and Family Service and Wesley Dalmar Child and Family Care talk about youth homelessness they are talking about significant related issues affecting young people’s lives. For example, this new Penrith-based service focuses on offering counselling to young people, their parents and carers, family counselling, mediation to assist in reaching agreement, individual case management for young people facing an array of difficulties, referrals to Centrelink and assistance with third-party assessments, practical support such as helping to pay for clothes, train fares and so on, information referral to other suitable services, support groups and education groups in high schools, centre-based support groups of young people encouraging responsible approaches to behaviour and life skills, and parent and carer support groups in which we encourage people to support each other in the building of community networks.
Assisting the Nepean Adolescent and Family Service to target its interventions and to remain committed to undergoing development and assessment of best practice requires regular action research. That involves documenting and distributing research into the lives of young people in that area through the Reconnect web page. That research is an important link in delivering services to young people and it will be made available to similar programs across Australia. I thank the Department of Community Services and acknowledge Wesley Mission’s contribution to this partnership, which will mean much to hundreds of thousands of young people in the Lower Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury and Penrith area. Although the area has one of the largest youth populations in Australia, this is the only service dedicated to young people at risk of homelessness and the other issues I have mentioned. 09 September 2004.
