Think of a time when you or a young person you know needed help and/or support. What experience would you share?

     Unlikely saviour: I was the one who needed help I was going through the roughest stage of my life going through depression and anxiety I had attempted suicide twice and through all my struggles my closest friend was there to help me through it all he didn’t do much but just being there being able to talk to him helped me more than you could imagine I think if he hadn’t of helped me I wouldn’t be here today.

     Feeling scared: I used to get bashed by my mum and her partner. I would go to the streets and get into trouble and end up in detention

     Young Person Attends School!: I wasn’t participating in education at the end of last year and I needed help to re-engage in education my case manager linked me into an alternative program.

    The 1 and Only: Nothing happened I made it on my own

When we asked young people to share their experiences of help or support through the Youth Voices project, we were privileged to read nearly 150 stories and comments that were poignant, often inspiring and sometimes painful.

The impact was amplified by the young people’s own interpretations of their experiences, as insights and more questions emerged from the data.

We have tried to capture some of these insights in the Youth Voices final report.

Most of the data included, however, is provided as a resource for readers to explore in the context of their own work with young people: it might mean something different to a youth worker than it does to a policy officer or a teacher.

This isn’t a report intended to be filed neatly away on a shelf – it asks questions more than it provides answers. Some of the outcomes are puzzling, and we need to ask further questions to understand more fully.

When we’re tempted to suggest that the young people didn’t interpret their own experiences ‘correctly’, however, it’s worth noting the following paraphrase from Marks and Snowden, whose work on understanding complexity provides a timely reminder:

No one can interpret their own world incorrectly; if you don’t understand the interpretations, then you are seeing their world differently.

Thanks to the many people who have participated, shown an interest and/or supported Youth Voices. Most of all, thanks to the young people who were generous with their time, thoughts and ideas.

Please enjoy the report, and feel free to contact Leanne at [email protected] with questions or for further information.

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