Dylan Powell and fellow Kiama youth workers are doing their bit to support their community's healing.
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Empowering young people to be the best they can be is at the heart of the work being carried out at SENTRAL Youth Services.
This approach comes after a "devastating" year for Kiama, which saw six young people suicide.
"We have had a few young people take their life. In terms of a community-based effort we are trying to build that community resilience and really build relationships with community and services," Powell said.
"In terms of your young people's health we are just trying to give them the best opportunity that we can with learning how to talk to somebody and learning how to facilitate conversations around young people and their health."
Powell, who did his Diploma of Youth Work through Shellharbour TAFE and his Certificate IV in Youth Work through TAFE Western, said the youth centre offered early intervention programs.
"We are a service that targets early intervention. Our programs target skills, empowering young people, building community resilience and building relationships with young people and other services out there as well," the 29-year-old said.
"Our programs are based very much around building that resilience, and building character in young people as well as building skills and giving them the strength and the courage to have these conversations, to have these interpersonal relationships and just to empower them to have the skills that they want.
"First and foremost this is a youth centre and it is based around what young people want and what young people need within our area."
Powell added the services SENTRAL offered were quite broad.
"What the area has gone through and in terms of what we do with that is very big but it is not all we do. We also do a lot of job resilience stuff and offer drug and alcohol resilience training. It is quite a broad service," he said.
"Our programs are based on self efficacy and try and build resilience and empowerment in young people to be the best they can be."
Powell's fellow SENTRAL youth worker Rubi Curran delivers the award-winning Empower with Rubi, an eight-week program for girls aged 15 and 16 at Kiama High School that offers life skills and strategies.
Curran, who earned a Certificate IV in Mental Health and a Diploma of Counselling at TAFE NSW Wollongong, said the program played a critical role in helping local youth navigate the challenging emotional terrain of adolescence.
"It's about providing a safe space where participants feel supported, build confidence and ask questions they may not be able to ask at school," she said.
"To see how much these young women grow in that eight weeks is so rewarding and I try to be that older sister, that role model they may not have in their lives."
If you or anyone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800.
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
