Carla Di Stefano is the Coordinator of Youth Services. Carla's role is to oversee the Youth Services department and support staff in delivering programs and services that best meet the needs of local young people.

Should you wish to discuss ways in which your school or agency can work collaboratively with Youth Services, contact Carla on tel: 9932 3000.

Amanda is the School Focused Youth Service Coordinator for Hobsons Bay and Wyndham. Her role is to strengthen links between schools and community agencies to better support the wellbeing needs of students.

Amanda oversees a funding program that provides resources for schools and agencies to meet the needs of vulnerable young people.

Emma's role as Youth and Community Support Officer is to run recreational and skill development programs. Emma convenes 'KAOS', a committee of young people that organise FReeZA events.

Emma also runs the mainstream holiday program and a music program called Kool Skools where local bands get to record their own music in a professional studio and produce a CD. Emma also works with schools and offers help on other Youth Services programs.

Leslee organises disability programs for local young people with mild to moderate disabilities. These programs offer recreation and skill development activities. Leslee also works on other Youth Services programs if needed.

Chris is a Youth and Community Support Officer who organises two drop in centres. He also works with local schools and works on programs and projects run by Youth Services. 

Lynnes works alongside the Youth Voice Committee (YVC) which is a group of young people aged 15 to 25 from Hobsons Bay. The YVC develops real life skills through youth participation and training by meeting fortnightly to manage the Reward and Recognition program, youth grants program, youth week events and other projects.

Daniela is a Youth Support and Development Officer who works with young people to support them in small group environments and individually. Daniela also works on programs and projects.

Jade is a Youth Support and Development Officer and provides individual support and case management, as well as designing, implementing and evaluating group work programs to support vulnerable young people. Support programs promote safety, healthy relationships, community connectedness, health and wellbeing, resilience, participation and personal development. 

Steph is the Administration/Project Officer. When visiting the Youth Services office, Steph is usually the first person you will see at the front desk.

Youth Services offer recreational programs for young people aged 12 to 25 with mild to moderate disabilities. 

The Be Yourself program operates during school holidays and offers fun activities for young people aged 12 to 17. The Expand program is for young people aged 18 to 25 and the Combi program operates monthly on a Saturday and is for young people aged 12 to 25.

If you are interested in any of these programs, contact Youth Services on tel: 9932 3000 to arrange an appointment for assessment and further information.

Youth Services provides short to medium term counselling and mediation to young people aged 12 to 25 years and their families, where appropriate. Counselling sessions can take place from the Youth Services office or within schools where convenient.

Currently the counselling service has a short waiting list as we are in the process of recruiting a new Youth and Family Counsellor. To make a referral or discuss any concerns relating to young people, contact Carla Di Stefano on tel: 9932 3000.

Our next parenting information session, Encouraging Anger Management Strategies to Support Young People, will be held on Tuesday, 25th August at Walker Close Community Centre.

This session aims to assist parents in understanding the anger response in young people and provide strategies in which parents can respond rather than react to their children in order to express their anger in a proactive way.

For more information or to book a place, contact Youth Services on tel: 9932 3000.

Youth Services, in partnership with Bayside Secondary College, has been successful in receiving funding through School Focused Youth Service (SFYS) to implement a mentoring pilot program within terms three and four.

Through matching young people with mentors from the Youth Services team, this initiative will provide these young people with positive role modeling, skill development, social, emotional and recreational support, build community links, and provide an opportunity to try new things with someone new.

Stay tuned for more information regarding the progress of this program in the next editions of this eNewsletter.

The Kool Skools Project is an exciting opportunity for local young musicians to record their music for a compilation CD. 

This year, four local bands recorded their tunes at Studio 52 in Collingwood. The performers spent a full day recording in the studio with professional sound engineers and producers. They also took part in a professional photo shoot and contributed to the cover art and theme of the compilation CD.

If you have any questions about the Kool Skools Project, contact Emma at Youth Services on tel: 9932 3000 or visit www.koolskools.com.au

Proud is a social support group for young people who are gay, lesbian, bi-sexual or just not sure, aged 15 to 21 years who live in the western suburbs. 

The group is a friendly, accepting and safe environment for young people to socialise and get support. Young people's privacy is protected. 

The group meets fortnightly during the school terms and is open to join at any time. Contact Jade or Daniela for more information or to join the group on tel: 9932 3000 or email: jnolan@hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au or dbeardsley@hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au

Risky Business is a support program for young men in years 9 to 12 that promotes safety and informed decision making. The program is fun and engaging and combines essential information and practical skills for risk takers.

Topics include alcohol and drugs, sex and relationships, safety on a night out and staying out of trouble with the law. 

This program will be run as an intensive one-week program from Tuesday, 8th to Friday, 11th September, 9.00am-3.00pm each day. 

For more information, contact Jade or Daniela before Friday, 21st August on tel: 9932 3000.

A large number of Reward and Recognition nominations were received for June highlighting the contribution local young people are making within our community.

Youth Voice, the Hobsons Bay Leader Newspaper and the Council congratulate Shukria Alewi from Laverton as the June Reward and Recognition Award winner in the Social Welfare Category. Read more about Shukria's achievements.  

If you know a young superstar, nominations for the October Reward and Recognition Award close Friday, 25th September. Nominate them now.

The Venus Room is a Youth Voice Committee initiated event which aims to raise awareness about violence against women to young people and the community. The event will celebrate the talent of our evolving young women artists in the west.

Violence against women is the most widespread human rights abuse. In Australia around one-in-three women experience physical violence and almost one-in-five experience sexual violence over their lifetime. This causes significant personal, social and economic costs for all in our community.

The Venus Room aims to raise awarness of gender-based violence to young people through creativity, by providing platforms that showcase the talent of young women in our community.

Are you a young person? Are you an organisation that works with young people? Do you have an idea for a local project that involves young people? Maybe it's time to make it happen. Through the ‘Making a Difference Today’ Youth Grants Program the Council offers financial resources to support projects, ideas and activities for young people, by young people in the local community.

These grants may be for ideas from individual young people or groups of young people. They can be run by a group of young people or by an organisation who works with young people or runs youth activities.

Putting an idea together and submitting a grant application can be challenging. There will be a Youth Grants Information Session and Launch to answer any questions or to give advice on your project idea on Wednesday, 14th October. Call Youth Services on tel: 9932 3000 for more information.

Youth Services runs a weekly drop in centre on Friday evenings, during school terms.

Fridays from 7.00pm to 10.00pm
Walker Close Community Centre
Corner Millers Road and Walker Close, Altona North.

Suitable for young people aged 12 to 17, the centre is free, fully supervised and drug and alcohol free.

Activities include pool, Playstation, movies, games and more.

Youth Services runs a weekly drop in centre on Tuesday afternoons, during school terms.

Tuesdays from 4.00pm to 6.00pm
Seabrook Community Centre Tennis Pavilion
Corner Truganina Avenue and John Cooke Terrace, Seabrook.

Suitable for young people aged 12 to 17, the centre is free, fully supervised and drug and alcohol free.

Activities include Playstation, games and more.

This 90 minute bi-lingual session in Karen and English is for learner drivers and their supervising drivers.

The session will show how to get the maximum benefit from the learner period and how to become a responsible and safe driver. The session is free.

The session will be held at Altona Meadows Library and Learning Centre, 2 Newham Way, Altona Meadows on Wednesday, 12th August at 6.30pm. Book your place on tel: 9932 3022

Hobsons Bay Libraries provide an online classroom for young people in Hobsons Bay in Years 4-12. Your Tutor connects students to qualified, expert tutors for one-to-one help with homework, assignments, exam preparation and study questions.

This online tutoring support program is available from Monday to Friday 4.00pm to 8.00pm.

Seabrook Community Centre can assist with your tax return at no cost. If you are a low income earner, perhaps you’re a young person working part-time or on a casual basis, contact Seabrook Community Centre to avoid the costs of going to a tax agent.

Appointments are available on Wednesdays. Call Seabrook Community Centre to book an appointment on tel: 9395 3010 or visit www.seabrookcc.com.au

The Friends of Altona Libraries' Illustration Competition, now in its second year, has a new theme; Read It, Imagine It, Draw It.

Young people from grade prep to year 12, who go to school or live in Hobsons Bay, are invited to enter the competition by using a piece of published literature as their inspiration and illustrating 'what their imagination saw’ while they were reading it.

Pick up an entry form from any library branch or download one from the libraries’ website from Wednesday, 26th August onwards. Entries close on Sunday, 18th October. Winners will share in the prize pool of $500, which will be awarded over five categories.

For more information contact Hobsons Bay Libraries on tel: 9932 1330.

Congratulations to Scott Hamil and Travis Burgio for their successful grant from Youth Foundations Victoria. The funds will enable Scott and Travis to purchase equipment for a monthly Playstation tournament, which will be held at Altona Meadows Library and Learning Centre.

Scott and Travis identified that young people in Laverton need more recreational opportunities and places to meet peers. Young people may not know what is available at the library and this initiative will introduce them to the library as a place to have fun, do homework, access the internet and get the latest CDs and DVDs. 

Find out more about Youth Foundations Victoria – Laverton or contact Fiona Williams on tel: 9932 3805.

Test your gaming powers in a round robin Playstation competition. Have a go or just watch some players with awesome gaming skills battle it out to win prizes.

Tournaments will be held from 4.30pm to 6.30pm on:

• Thursday, 6th August
• Thursday, 3rd September
• Thursday, 1st October
• Thursday, 5th November
• Thursday, 3rd December - final championship round.

Altona Meadows Library and Learning Centre, 2 Newham Way, Altona Meadows. Bookings required on tel: 9932 3020.

Are you a Twilight obsessed fan who just can’t get enough of Edward and Bella? Or do you prefer Jacob with his raw animal instincts? Let the hot blooded and cold blooded war begin in this talkative session where the Twilight saga continues.

Talk, eat, drink and be the first teenagers to help the library select young adult books to buy.

This session will be held on Thursday, 27th August at 4.30pm - 5.30pm at Williamstown Library, 104 Ferguson Street, Williamstown. Bookings required on tel: 9932 4170.

The Youth Strategic Plan 2009 -2013 will work towards ensuring that young people in Hobsons Bay are valued, supported and championed. The plan has identified five key priority areas that set the direction for action over the next three years:

• Leadership and Coordination
• Spaces and Places
• Connection and Participation
• Transitions: Learning and Working
• Health and Wellbeing.

The plan is supported by an internal action plan which will be developed annually across departments and updated for continuous improvement. The Council will keep abreast of issues that impact on young people and use that information to modify the annual action plans accordingly.

Some things that we have learnt about local young people:

• There are around 14,000 young people in Hobsons Bay, which make up 17 per cent of the total population
• Young people in Hobsons Bay are the most educated generation that we have seen in history
• Most young people born overseas come from New Zealand
• The biggest youth population is in Altona Meadows, with noticeable population increases in Seabrook and Williamstown
• Research indicates that around 22 per cent of young people (15 – 25 years) had volunteered and 19 per cent were members of an organised group.