Surf Coast Youth

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Our shire is full of vibrant young people who do fabulous things every day. To keep up to date on what we have on offer for the 12-25 -year-old crowd, check out the pages below and be sure to follow ‘Surf Coast Youth’ on Instagram or like the Surf Coast Youth Facebook page. You can also contact us on 5261 0600 or email youthdevelopment@surfcoast.vic.gov.au.

What's on 2024

For live updates, follow @surfcoastyouth on Instagram and Facebook

 FReeZA – Coastal Events - This program is funded by the Victorian Government 

 FReeZA will hold a combination of 6 events and professional trainings in 2024. The program is lead by multiple youth committees across the shire. 

Proposed 2024 Events and Trainings

Aireys Open Mic FReeZA Stage - March

FReeZA Stage Cowrie Market - April 

FreeZA Summit Collingwood Melbourne - April 

Torquay MAC Gig -  July School Holidays

Lorne P-12 Event - Date TBC

Surf Coast Secondary Event - Date TBC

Fortnightly committee meetings are held at Torquay Youth Centre and at Lorne P-12. Committee meetings are held in other townships as required. To join the committee, take a look at the FReeZA tab and complete the online form.  

Contact Damian Obrien for more information: dobrien@surfcoast.vic.gov.au

 

Engage! - This program is funded by the Victorian Government 

Torquay Youth Space: is located in Kurrambee Myaring Community Centre in Torquay North. It is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 3pm – 5pm during school terms. The Youth Space is open to all young people aged 12 - 25 years and two youth workers are always present in the space. 

Torquay Youth Space Social Story(PDF, 8MB)

Youth for Climate Program and Celebration Event: In 2023 we partnered with Common Ground to deliver a fantastic program. Plans are being developed for 2024  with the program co-designed with young people who have an existing interest in the environment to incorporate their ideas and interest areas. The program will involve opportunities for young people to increase connections between each other as well as local environment and climate groups and the wider community. The program will consist of a number of in person workshops that allow young people to do practical and theory based learning and engage in hands on climate adaptation action. Click to watch the videos from 2021 and 2023.  

Employment Skills Workshops: in 2023 we ran the following workshops, Torquay: White Card | Anglesea: RSA | Lorne: Food Handlers | Winchelsea: First Aid. This year we will continue to collaborate with external providers to deliver short courses that enhance young people’s hospitality skills and increase their employment opportunities. Tourism,  hospitality and trades are the largest employment sectors in the Surf Coast. We have 130 registered cafes and restaurants. In May 2021, Council declared a key worker crisis. It would be great to give young people the skills to make the most of employment opportunities locally. Keep an eye out for our 2024 schedule via checking our Linktree on Instagram. 

Finding Your Niche Program: Surf Coast Shire will collaborate with external providers to deliver the ‘Finding Your Niche’ program. This will involve running several ‘taster’ workshops for young people to engage in a range of different activities where they will be able to find an activity they enjoy and are passionate about that has a positive impact on their mental health and wellbeing. Program in development. Times and dates TBC.

Primary School Year 6 Transition Workshops:  Surf Coast Youth staff (alongside Larry the therapy dog) will deliver evidence-based wellbeing workshops to year sixes transitioning to year seven. The workshops focus on managing stress and emotion during what can often be a challenging transition to high school. Our 2021 Surf Coast Youth Census revealed that COVID, mental health, anxiety and coping with stress were the top four issues of greatest concern for our young people. In response to these concerns, the workshops aim to equip young people with accessible tools to manage their emotions, and provide preventative and protective measures for mental health. 

Contact Steph Stevanja, SStevanja@surfcoast.vic.gov.au, for more information on the Engage! program. 

 

Victorian Youth Fest - This program is funded by the Victorian Government 

Youth Fest is coming up in September and we're excited to announce that we will be partnering with Anglesea Art Space to run a youth exhibition. More information to follow closer to the date. 

Stay tuned for more info and don't hesitate to reach out if you want to be part of the fun! 

 

General

School Holiday Youth Space Pop Ups (See social media for times and locations)

Parenting Education Programs, see parent education tab for more information.

Schoolies Harm Reduction Response, check the schoolies tab for more information. 

Youth Network Meeting Surf Coast Region: Two network meetings per year for professionals and agency staff. Contact jpearson@surfcoast.vic.gov.au for more information. 

New Headspace youth consulting group. If you are interested in having your say on a new Headspace near us, get in touch with jpearson@surfcoast.vic.gov.au

 

Specialist Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug Services at Kurrambee Myaring Community Centre

Surf Coast Shire partner with Barwon Child Youth & Family to deliver the following services. 

Tuesday - Meli: Family Brief Intervention Counselling with Kate

Thursday - Meli: Family Drop-in with Tina

Friday - Meli: Step Up, Building Healthy Relationships Program with Si

Schoolies

Torquay and Lorne are popular locations within the Shire for school leavers to celebrate. We want young people to have a fun experience on the Coast whilst respecting the townships and native flora and fauna.

Council is part of the Good Times, Great Breaks harm minimisation strategy - see their Facebook page for more information about schoolies for parents/guardians and local residents.

2021 Surf Coast Youth Census

More than 1000 young people aged 10 - 25 completed the 2021 Surf Coast Youth Census. 

Find out how our young people responded(PDF, 1MB)  

 

Engage!

The Engage! program is ran to work with young people to develop and deliver activities that engage young people in the their community. Engage! covers a range of topics for young people including; mental health and wellbeing, connections to the community, employment skills and the environment. 

Engage! is funded by the Victorian Government.

Youth Spaces

Torquay Youth Space

The Torquay Youth Space is a space where young people are welcome to hang out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3pm-5pm during the school terms. Located within Kurrambee Myaring Community Centre the Youth Space has a range of activities for young people, these include; table tennis, electric drums, a range of guitars, board and card games and free Wi-Fi. 

Youth Space Social Story(PDF, 8MB)

Youth Pod 

The Surf Coast Youth Pod is a mobile container that is transported throughout the region to offer support to young people. It is a hang-out space for youth and is a place to connect with the Youth Team.

Youth Pod opening dates, times and locations will be posted on the Surf Coast Youth Facebook Page.

youth pod

FReeZA

FReeZA is a youth development program which aims to provide Music, Art and Skate/BMX opportunities for young people aged 12-25.

FReeZA encourages young people to form committees that organise drug, alcohol and smoke free events and training for other young people in their local communities.

If you are interested in joining your local committee, performing at an event or just want more information about the FReeZA program, please fill out the form below or email youthdevelopment@surfcoast.vic.gov.au

FReeZA is funded by the Victorian Government.

Surf Coast Youth Strategy 2022 - 2025

Parent Education

Surf Coast Youth partners with a variety of agencies and services to bring parent education to our region. Our partners included Meli, Drummond St Services, Geelong Regional Parenting and Headspace.

Download the Geelong Regional Parenting calendar(PDF, 1MB)

Can't access this PDF? Contact Geelong Regional Parenting Service

Drummond St Logo.png

Click for Drummond Street Parenting Calendar

 

 

 

 

 

Need Support?

If you need help and support regarding youth issues, the following links can be useful:

  • Reach Out
    info on mental health issues, success stories and a community support forum
  • Youth Drug Support
    drug support info, chatline, news, fact sheets, an interactive poll, a forum, ask health professionals confidential questions
  • Kids Helpline
    Phone: 1800 55 1800
  • Youth Central
    School Leavers info, jobs & careers, money management, studying, relationship advice, safe parties
  • Headspace Barwon
    info on mental health and tough times - if you're 12-25, you can get health advice, support and info