Halls Creek Youth Hub
14 December 2018
There has recently a lot of talk and excitement around the development and implementation of a Youth Hub in Halls Creek that would work to actively engage youth of all ages and provide a safe and fun place for them to be.
Since the initial discussion in June, the space has been up and running on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays after school until around 9.00 pm.
The Hub is run predominantly by RSAS staff and supported by others from the school, Police, Youth Services and other stakeholders in Halls Creek.
The Youth Hub provides activities such as movies, games, basketball, table tennis, pool and a safe and fun place to have a yarn and connect with people from their community, plus enjoy some healthy tucker too.
To date, the Hub has had great support from the community, about 50 books aimed at 5 to 15-year olds, pencils, crayons, felt pens and paper has been generously donated. All of these resources are popular, particularly for the younger kids in attendance, they use them for drawing, spelling and maths.
All of the events are led by the children, to the point that the Officer in Charge of the Police Station remarked how impressive the level of self-directed organisation of activities (such as the pool and table tennis) is with little input from staff. Staff only intervene and become involved for dispute resolution, which is rare.
Movies are selected by the children from the range of movies on the Hub hard drive, and they have noted cartoons appear to be the most popular.
Children are enjoying the meals of hotdogs and are encouraged to wash their hands before being able to make their own.
The Hub hopes secure funds to employ a Youth Worker to ensure the Youth Hub runs over the Christmas period.