Meeting local police, St John paramedics, and an introduction to Cromwell Youth Trust youth workers at The Hangout youth centre was all part of an initiative to ease young people into a support system for their secondary school years.

Around 95 young people from Goldfields Primary and Cromwell Primary schools got the chance to check out The Hangout, meet youth workers, police and local St John paramedics as part of a Cromwell Youth Trust (CYT) initiative to support young people beginning their transition to secondary school in Cromwell.

Last year, there was a successful meet and greet for young people. This year, parents and guardians were also included in the mix, with an evening designed so they could meet local youth workers Cat, Eden and Rhys, ask questions, find out about the wide array of services they provide and take a look inside The Hangout youth centre.

Young people got to check out The Hangout, meet the youth worker team and eat cookies donated by Subway Cromwell.

 “This meet and greet was identified as a good way for parents and guardians to find out a bit about what we do, and to get to know us”, Rhys said.

“In our line of work, we meet a lot of young people but don’t always get to meet parents, and they often don’t have the chance to get to know us.

“As youth workers, we are here to help, we want them to get to know us, and find out more about how we can support their kids.”

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Rhys said the visit to The Hangout enabled the youth worker team to introduce the pupils to everything available to them as college students next year.

“It’s important for parents and guardians to know that from the 1^st of January their children are able to access all of our services, including The Hangout youth centre, holiday programmes, youth development programmes and all the other opportunities there are here for our youth,” Rhys said.

“We don’t want them to think they have to wait until the school year begins.”

Rhys said youth workers have already been connecting with the incoming year 7 students throughout this term, and this day visiting the youth centre was the next progression to ensure they were all comfortable in the space ready for next year.

The pool table was well-tested by the end of the day.

“It takes away those anxious feelings of the unknown,” Rhys explained.

“It’s not just about The Hangout as four walls; it’s another extension to their community and an opportunity for us to build relationships with the young people.”

Parents and guardians visiting The Hangout chatted with Rhys, Eden and Cat and asked a wide range of questions, from ‘How are you funded?’ to ‘What is the age range of the kids coming here?’.

Parents checked out the programmes on offer, checked out the facilities and enjoyed tea, coffee and cake as they got to know the three youth workers.

“It’s all about being comfortable with who we are and what we do, because we will be involved with supporting their children’s development for a number of years.”

Images supplied