Community Newsletter
Summer Community Newsletter 2009
Tena koe
“I’d rather be judged than ignored”
A casual yet poignant discussion between friends ended in a thought about the relationship between youth and the wider community. ‘I’d rather be judged than ignored’ were my friend’s words. Having just read a report on New Zealand youth gangs (Eggleston, 2000) I was struck by my friend’s words and wondered about this dynamic in relation to young New Zealand males who join gangs.
To be judged; to be seen through another’s eyes; thought about and formed an opinion around or to be ignored; to cease to exist in another’s eyes, to be unthinkable and snubbed out. The lesser evil in this case seems clear. Do young people feel this in the identity consolidating time of adolescence?
From my personal experience, indifference is the nemesis of youth who need to bang up against something and feel a response. It is engagement, connection and realness that make the difference.
In the midst of raging hormones, navigating the path to adulthood, and as identified by the Eggleston’s youth participants; the very important gender identity building, the gang helps to fill a gap that perhaps communities are struggling to fill. Eggleston’s research showed that over riding most gang activity was the togetherness and social life it created; an oasis for the need for affiliation and belonging. Gangs provide young people just what they need!
Communities need to offer young people meaningful alternatives.
Rather than working to fix and treat problems we need to be building multiple and diverse pathways where young people can be involved in meaningful ways in the community.
Youthline celebrates 40 years of service to the community in 2010. I was reflecting on what really makes a difference when working in this sector and come back to a principle that was fundamental in when Youthline started.
At the very beginning Youthline was about engagement; bringing young people into leadership roles as a central part of our organisation’s work in the community.
At a wider community level this fundamental is vital if we are going to achieve Youthline vision of developing communities where young people are supported to reach their potential.
Youthline has stood the test of time and we can celebrate generations of amazing people young and not so young who have woven the work of this great organisation into the fabric of New Zealand’s society.
Look out for the calendar of events in 2010 marking 40 years of service to communities around New Zealand.
I wish you and your families the very best for the festive season.
Meri Kirihimete
Youthline Southland
The phones will be ringing this Christmas in Southland, and it’s all hands on deck in Youthline's Southern most centre.
It’s certainly been a busy time down South. While others have been rushing around organising their Christmas shopping, we’ve been out in the community increasing awareness of the service, and recruiting new volunteers. We’ve had an incredible response in such a short time, with eager new faces wanting to come on board and Youthliners from years ago also keen to reconnect.
It’s been a steep learning curve and one which would not have been achievable without the support of other centres from around New Zealand. The encouragement and advice from one end of the country to the other has made the transition much easier and the goal posts much more within reach than they may otherwise have been.
What has been overwhelming is the strong sense of community which exists within the many like minded Southland community organisations and the way they’ve welcomed our service. I’ve often been greeted with a sense of relief that Youthline’s presence will be strengthening in the Southland region and that we can continue to offer our community, especially young people, another support option.
The New Year for us will see a big promotional push to ensure Southlanders are aware of all the services Youthline offers and we’ll also be actively recruiting more volunteers. So keep an eye out because this time next year it’ll be a very different story in the South ….but one thing will be the same, the phones will still be ringing in Southland.
Delia Riley - Youthline Southland
Linking the Past and Present
The old Papatoetoe Fire Station on St George St has strong ties to the community and its rebirth with Youthline will continue that tradition.
The building is part of the proud history of the Papatoetoe Volunteer Fire Brigade which was formed on 18 April 1928. The locals wanted a fire service so they created one themselves.
The first fire station was in a tin shed behind the town hall. In 1959, this was moved a few hundred metres down the road to the site on St George St. The founding 15 members, all volunteers, used 'a hand-cart and some doubtful hose and nozzles' for several months, according to a brief history prepared by ex-firefighters, until a used Guy Fire Appliance was obtained from the Avondale Fire Brigade. The longest serving fire chief was Mr Trevor Thompson who headed the station for 25 years before retiring in 1986. Changes over the years mainly involved newer equipment, modern communications, access to piped water which replaced hand carts, and a traffic light in place of a runner with a red flag to stop the traffic. Safety gear also improved from 'eating smoke' to proper breathing equipment. The vehicle design changed to fully enclosed units, reducing the previous risk to firefighters of bouncing off the fire tenders while gripping on to handrails. New Zealand nationalised the fire services into a professionally trained service in 1976 and the Papatoetoe volunteer section was eventually disbanded on 18 April 1988, on its 60th birthday. A renewable lease has now been signed between Youthline and the Manukau City Council for use of the property. The agreement will allow for refurbishment of the facility into a Youthline centre to work with the community in the wider Manukau area.
The lease also protects a memorial plaque near the front of the station. This is in memory of three men - Gordon Upton, Murray Harris and Peter Bradley - who went missing at sea in April 1979, all of whom had a strong association to the Papatoetoe station. The memorial includes three kauri growing nearby which were donated by a former Papatoetoe mayor, Mr Allan Brewster.
The fire brigade is now based on Lambie Drive.
IAAH World Congress 2009
The conference on Adolescent Health took place over three days. Hundreds of health professionals and youth health workers from around the world gathered together to discuss the work that is happening around the globe to improve adolescent health.
The conference consisted of various seminars, performances, works shops and amazing food.
“ This was such a great experience for me, not only was the conference amazing but getting to experience the Malaysian culture as well was fantastic. I was blown away by how passionate everyone at the conference was about wanting to help improve adolescent health around the world, it was really awesome to see. Some of the stories that were shared really helped me to get an insight into what is happening on a global level. This really made me appreciate how lucky we are in Aotearoa,” says Morgan.
Morgan and Nao were able to make some good international connections, and bring home knowledge about overseas research and projects that they hope to apply to their work at Youthline. They would like to thank Sue Bagshaw and Youthline for supporting them in making this amazing opportunity happen.
Professional Practices Group – PPG
The Professional Practices Group (PPG) is a group that provides advice and guidance to Youthline on its service provision. This advisory group began meeting earlier this year and is made up of experienced professionals who can give expert academic, research or practice opinion.
The PPG group focuses a particular emphasis on assisting the development of Youthline’s services, including face-to-face therapy, phone/email/text counselling, programmes and training.
The group is also involved with considering potential new development programmes and the ongoing evaluation of Youthline’s current programmes. The PPG is intended to add value and to improve Youthline’s clinical oversight, risk management and control processes.
The current members of the PPG are:
Jayne Lowry - Youthline’s Clinical Services manager
Terry Fleming – Youth Researcher Auckland University
Kim Elliot – Senior Lecturer at the Research Facility of Education at Auckland University
Ronji Tanielu – Youth Development Researcher - Member of Youthline Clinical Services team
Sandra Palmer - Clinical Manager for Clinical Advisory Aotearoa. She is also a registered Psychologist
“The group brings an outside prospective towards reviewing policies. Their academic, research and practice opinion brings another level of resilience within Youthline’s clinical practices. ”Says Youthline’s Clinical Manager Jayne Lowry.
This year the advisory group has been meeting every six weeks. One of their latest projects has been working towards introducing a Diploma of Youth Work with NZQA modules into Youthline. This will offer Youth Workers the opportunity to gain further qualifications in their specialised area.
Wiki Ah-Chee was managing a drainage company when he got the chance to join Youthline. Since that move in August 2007, he has used his work skills to spearhead several projects in the community. The latest involves the newest Youthline centre for Manukau where he is the project manager. Converting the old Papatoetoe fire station into a modern community centre catering for different clients has been an exciting challenge for the whole team. Among the challenges has been understanding and complying with council requirements for major makeovers. "But all good things take time," he said. "Youthline amazes me in the way the organisation uses its resources to help others. It has developed a large network of services to wrap around a young person, and brings together comunities, families, local bodies and government." For him, the best thing about working for Youthline is his belief in what it stands for. "The highlight for me is knowing that Youthlines' values are focused on my own beliefs of being able to change lives," Wiki said. His own advice for someone thinking of a career, or volunteer work, with Youthline?
"Come and watch your life, and other people's lives, change for the better."
Urge update – Sam Cowley Lupo - Pacific Beat St presenter
“We want to hear from prominent New Zealand celebrities about their experiences!”
This is the message that Youthline received from workshops with young people discussing the youth health information website, Urge/Whakamanawa. Young people were passionate about hearing from local celebrities about their experiences growing up, dealing with peer pressure, knowing their own culture, and finding their future career paths.
A recent interview with Sam Cowley Lupo can be viewed on www.urge.co.nz. Sam talks openly about his experiences in his career as a presenter on Pacific Beat Street and his relationship with his culture and roots.
Youthline is looking for more people to interview for this new section of Urge and welcomes any suggestions or offers to
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Voice Leadership Programme Manukau
On November 3 Youthline house went off with a huge bang as the Voice Central and Manukau crew gathered for the biggest ever Voice Graduation. The room was filled with friends and family showing their support towards the achievements of the crews.
The night was a formal affair and was run completely by the young people, from MCing to DJing. Throughout the night, graduation and participation certificates were handed out and stories were shared by some of the young people of their experiences about being on the Voice programme.
One of the main highlights that these young people shared was about the recent Voice camp. The camp was held at Blue Mountain Adventure Centre close to Mt Ruapehu and run by the Salvation Army.
The camp ran for two days and two nights. Some of the major obstacles that the Voice members were challenged with were: high ropes courses, abseiling and a four hour extreme bush walk in the pouring rain.
“The camp really helped to bring everyone together again, the effect it had on the students has been amazing, they really stepped out of their comfort zones.” Says Grace, Youthline Youth Worker and Voice group leader.
The night consisted of some fun activities run by the students, sing alongs and of course good food.
“There was so much support shown from whanau, friends, teachers and counsellors on the night it was awesome. The changes that I have seen in the kids since the beginning of the programme has been phenomenal. Thank you to everyone involved for showing their support to the Voice programme.” Grace adds.
Miscarriage Support Auckland
For many women miscarriage is a tragic event that can be overlooked by the community. Regardless of the length of the pregnancy, families often feel a huge amount of grief and loss as they have usually already seen their living baby on a scan.
Miscarriage affects one in every four women, the stats increasing with age, and in New Zealand is defined as a pregnancy that ends spontaneously before 20 weeks, the baby not usually being born alive and weighing under 400g.
Miscarriage Support Auckland Inc. is a non-profit, peer organisation run by a small group of passionate and caring women who have themselves all experienced the grief of a miscarriage. They have a comprehensive 80 page website www.miscarriage.org.nz which includes a forum, and work in with Youthline to offer the miscarriage Support line.
The Support line operates from 8am to midnight every day, except Monday when it is available from 4pm to midnight.
Women who call will speak to a female Youthline counsellor, who has had extra specific miscarriage training by the miscarriage group, and can support them through this difficult time and also provide further links to information and resources.
Women seeking support can contact the Supportline on 09 378 4060.
"Our group is very appreciative of the cooperation and dedication of the caring counsellors of Youthline who answer our calls. With the higher public awareness of today there is an expectation a counsellor will be available on a Helpline, but as we can offer peer support only, Youthline have gratifyingly filled that gap for us." Vonney Allan, President Miscarriage Support.