Youth in Local Government Awards 2004

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Pu Maia Rangatahi- The Spirit of Youth
Youth in Local Government Awards 2004
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Pu Maia Rangatahi- The Spirit of Youth Taranaki
Connections New Plymouth District Council
winner - Youth in Local Government Awards- 2004
The Need

• Waitara has a disproportionately large percentage
  of the districts youth unemployed
• Waitara youth have suffered immeasurably with the
  negative public perception cast on them following
  the high profile cases of Steven Wallace and
  The Piggott murder.
• Waitara has had substantial closures of key
  industries which used to employ significant
  numbers of young people. This has impacted
  negatively with unemployment remaining high and
  produced high levels of intergenerational benefit
  dependency.
• Waitara High School had a manageable number of
  students to offer quality transitional support to.

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Pu Maia Rangatahi- The Spirit of Youth
Support for Taranaki Connections

• Mayor of New Plymouth Peter Tennent
• A Core-group member of the Mayors Taskforce for
  Jobs (MTFJ), Tennent was an enthusiastic
  supporter of MTFJ strategic goal that
• By 2005, no young person under 25 years will be
  out of work or training in Taranaki

• The Mayors leadership role was significant
  because
• It lent validity to the belief that locally we
  were 100 capable of developing a model that
  would work for our young people.
• Connecting the key players in the community was
  made easier because his agenda was transparent,
  and more importantly it transcended politics and
  connected everyones desire that WE all want a
  positive future for our young people in
  Taranaki!.

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Pu Maia Rangatahi- The Spirit of Youth
Support for Taranaki Connections

• Taranaki Employment Support Foundation together
  with Community Development (NPDC) got buy-in from
  Waitara High and the following agencies MSD,
  TPK, TEC, CYF Careers Services Rapuara. This
  collaboration meant that a YOUTH CHARTER was
  signed by all parties to formalise their
  commitment to our youth.
• The Waitara Community was ready to try something
  new to assist their young people from school to
  work. Consultation and collaboration were a high
  priority to find out exactly what young people
  wanted.
• NPDC made a commitment to support TC by releasing
  10 staff to volunteer as Personal
  Coaches/Mentors.
• Nationally, the framework for Youth Development
  was released. Internationally, Youth Transition
  services were working well in the UK Australia.

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Pu Maia Rangatahi- The Spirit of Youth
The Aim of Taranaki Connections

• That ALL young people receive an integrated and
  holistic service that provides support, guidance
  and access to professional services to assist
  them in designing their pathways over the long
  term up to 5 years.
• The service is available to ALL young people.
  There is no targeting of at-risk youth.
  Everyone gets the same opportunity to receive
  assistance whether they are high-achievers or
  not. TCX recognises that we all need support at
  different times of our lives- regardless of
  ability or career choice.
• Participation is purely voluntary- there is no
  statutory obligation to use TCX. Young people
  want to be there because it WORKS!
• It is Not a project or a programme. It is a
  purpose, a goal and shared commitment, delivering
  results by many independent strategies.

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Pu Maia Rangatahi- The Spirit of Youth
The Structure

• A Holistic Framework that consists of
• Governance Support that provides leadership and
  resources
• Professional Support that provides intensive
  personal support from the TC staff, personal
  coaches and by referral to specialist services
  (i.e. careers)
• Community Support that provides individual,
  family, whanau, hapu, iwi, community and business
  support
• Peer Support provides youth group activity

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Pu Maia Rangatahi- The Spirit of Youth
How it actually works?

• TCX has a shop front on the main street of
  Waitara- it is accessible and youth friendly.
• TCX meets with students before they leave
  school- delivering a Youth driven career
  exploration programme Dream School .
• Once registered with TCX young people are
  offered the chance to have their own Personal
  Coach. PCs are derived from organisations within
  the network and from the community. Some
  participate as part of their job, NPDC allows
  staff up to 4 hours per week during work time.
• TCX encourages each young person to create their
  own individual pathway plan. Everyone is followed
  up on a regular basis to ensure they are on
  track. Action is taken dependant on need.

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Pu Maia Rangatahi- The Spirit of Youth
Achieving YDSA principles
Taranaki Connections is firmly committed to its
local Youth Charter but also to the 6 principles
of Youth Development as outlined by the Youth
Development Strategy Aotearoa (YDSA)

• Taranaki Connections was and is shaped by the
  big picture
• Taranaki Connections is about young people being
  connected
• Taranaki Connections is based on a consistent
  strengths based approach
• Taranaki Connections happens through quality
  relationships
• Taranaki Connections recognises that Youth
  Development is triggered when young people fully
  participate
• Taranaki Connections recognises that Youth
  Development needs good information from
  staff/personal coaches and resources

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Pu Maia Rangatahi- The Spirit of Youth
The Results

• Within the first 9 months of operation, 80 youth
  have registered with Taranaki Connections. 93
  are now in work, further education or training.
• Recruitment of 19 community Personal Coaches- who
  have received specialised youth worker training
  and who are actively working with young people.
  Recruitment is on-going.
• Developed a Waitara Youth Services Directory
• Developed the Dream School a collaborative
  project with Young people and Career Services
  Rapuara.
• Facilitated and produced the YOUTH CHARTER which
  strengthens the resolve to work together as
  agencies.
• TCX facilitates meetings with professional and
  community groups to ensure the project keeps
  momentum and reflects what the community want
• TCX facilitates active consultation with young
  people to reflect what they want

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Pu Maia Rangatahi- The Spirit of Youth
Conclusion
The establishment of Taranaki Connections in
Waitara has been a huge success on many levels.
It has successfully woven the principles of the
YDSA with the particular needs of Waitara youth.
Taranaki Connections has been a very powerful
means to realise The Mayors statement that
collaboration is possible because essentially-
we all want the same thing, WE all want a
positive future for our young people in
Taranaki! Secondly, young people themselves
have a feeling of connectedness and belief that
they do have choices about their future.
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Pu Maia Rangatahi- The Spirit of Youth

Taranaki Connections is a true community driven
project- that seeks to make a difference and
improve the lives of everyone involved.