The North Shore is home to a variety of different facilities where youth can come together, be inspired, empowered, and participate in experiences that help them learn important life skills. Jessy Thurston looks at some of the options for young people to meet others and enjoy shared experiences.
Raise-up North Shore is a group of 20 innovative youth eager to get involved with a bunch of completely youth-led events, including their planning, decision making, recruiting and management. Raise-up creates opportunities for youth, by youth. The group values its ability to have a youth outlook on the things young people enjoy, and then action these ideas within the community. They are currently focused on the upcoming fashion event called Walk The Line, which allows 60 young designers to showcase their creativity in the fashion world and bring it to the runway. Raise-up members Charli, Julia, and Miriam have been working hard to make sure everything runs smoothly for this event and are excited to see it all come together in September during New Zealand Fashion Weekend.
The Kaipātiki Community Facilities Trust is home to many resources, including youth-based groups constantly working to give youth the best opportunities available. Sonia Nerheny, of the Jobs4Youth programme, has worked closely with a large number of young people who have needed guidance choosing a pathway to employment, reaching career goals, and finding jobs to suit their lifestyles and aspirations. Anyone aged 16-24 can benefit from Jobs4Youth with its open door policy. Sonia has recently become the Schools Engagement Facilitator within the Northern Jobs & Skills Hub which opens soon in Glenfield; she will continue her role of guiding youth but the service will expand across the whole North Shore. The Kaipātiki Community Facilities Trust also has the Kaipātiki Youth Development programme to help at-risk youth, as well as the Kaipātiki Project which allows youth to voice concerns and opinions and have a chance to make the community a better place for all.
Sunnynook Community Centre is home to a range of activities for young people, including holiday programmes for many age groups. The Sunnynook Community Centre encourages 16-year-olds involved in the centre to try for their learner’s licence as soon as they are of age, to help them in the future when they look at getting jobs. The Kennedy Park Youth Programme operates under the Sunnynook Community Centre auspices every school holidays and offers fun for 10-13 year olds through sports, crafts, baking, games and two trips a week to exciting places in different parts of Auckland. The youth who spend their holidays with the Kennedy Park Youth Programme have the opportunity to become volunteers after they turn 15 to help run the 5-9 year old programme. This encourages them to have first-aid certificates and training, as well as having employment experience for their CVs. University students who are a part of the centre also have the opportunity to help out with the Kennedy Park programme.
Younite is the Devonport-Takapuna youth board. It aims to engage young people in the community and give them a platform for their voices, opinions, and concerns to be heard. Younite offers the opportunity for youth to be involved in issues that matter, as well as bridging the gap between adults and young people, and broadening the communication between them. Running a range of different workshops from public speaking to community engagement, Younite aims to provide youth involved with important life skills and opportunities to connect with others. Co-chair for Younite, Friederike Voit, says he enjoys the sense of community and connection that the youth board enables. In the next year, Younite hopes to start collaborating with other youth groups in the area, and have a mayoral debate to highlight how important it is for youth to have their say.
Shore Junction is a soon-to-open youth innovation centre in Takapuna. It will offer exciting new opportunities in leading technologies and facilities, integrated programmes and services, and personal and professional networks for youth to utilise and reach their full potential. Shore Junction aims to be more than just a local facility, hoping that its fresh and advanced outlook will reflect onto other communities throughout New Zealand. Youth Advisor Ian Lim says Shore Junction believes young people are the experts of their own domain, and as it develops it is incorporating co-design with youth, as they will be at the heart of everything Shore Junction is developing and what it will become.
PHAB in Takapuna is an inclusive organisation that enhances opportunities and empowers youth with disabilities. PHAB provides social experiences for people 16 and over. It has recently revamped its Takapuna centre with new concrete paths, heat pumps, and the expansion of a garden-to-table programme. Members of PHAB can connect with their community, make new friends, and gain confidence by developing key life skills, all while having a blast in every activity they do.
Each of these facilities makes a difference for youth in our community, and gives them massive opportunities and guidance to ease them into adulthood:
Raise-up North Shore www.raiseup.co.nz/raiseup-crews/auckland-central/north-shore/
Kaipātiki Community Facilities Trust http://www.kaipatikicommunityfacilitiestrust.org.nz/
Sunnynook Community Centre http://www.sunnynookcomcentre.co.nz/
Kennedy Park Youth Programme http://www.sunnynookcomcentre.co.nz/4501/9601.html
Younite www.facebook.com/younitedt/
Shore Junction http://www.shorejunction.nz/
PHAB http://thecube.org.nz/north-shore-phab-group/
