Case studies

The first time Nathan Akoka was in a drug and alcohol withdrawal unit, he wasn’t a worker. He was a client.

He was referred to a YSAS Withdrawal unit in Fitzroy, and what he remembers most was how non-judgemental and supportive the workers were.

When I was 15, I drank so much that I fell unconscious on my bed. My dad rang me and I wasn’t able to speak to him, and he freaked out. It was very confronting because I still didn’t think it was an issue. I thought the alcohol was helping me.

Lake Majstorovic and Dr Steph Ryan are passionate about improving the lives of LGBTIQA+ young people in the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula area.

“There’s a real passion and intention in the area to support these communities. A lot of the centralised services aren’t accessible, so we’re filling a needed gap.”

Marcus says most services are designed for straight, cisgender Anglo people.

“The scientists, the doctors, the psychologists, so many of the people who come up with the theories, they are the demographic in mind.”

The Zone is trying to create that same experience for people who have traditionally been ignored and marginalised.

Support for young people often takes a one-size-fits-all approach.

Youth worker Cihan Tohumcuer has seen how this cookie-cutter model has left Victoria’s Muslim community behind.

At the Geelong Residential Withdrawal Unit, Dave Pettingill is changing lives one skill at a time.

From teaching basic tasks like cooking to helping young people manage their emotions, he’s helping young people turn their lives around.

Things were violent at home and I couldn’t keep living there.

After I had to move out of my parents’ place I was shuffling between crisis housing, my worker Meagan helped me find a room I could live in while I went to TAFE. That was the first place where I comfortable and calm.

Now I’m working full-time in fintech and have my own place. I’ve got a pretty good relationship with my Mum and Dad now too. It just took a bit of space and time.

It’s really hard to get into brief intervention counselling without experience, but the grad program was a great way in.

There’s a lot of space for learning at YSAS, which is really helpful as a graduate. There’s always someone around to ask a question if you’re unsure about anything.

I’ve learned so much in my time here and my growth as a practitioner has just really been accelerated.

My favourite experience is helping to run YSAS Ideas Day which is an event every year that collects feedback from young people.

We ask them questions about our services, write down their answers then give recommendations to the YSAS Board.

It’s very important, because we need to know what young people want and need.

I was hesitant to apply, because I had no expertise in the field.

But after a colleague broke the role down, I changed my mind. I thought, Well, it’s still talking to young people and helping them. Maybe it is my skill set.

YSAS is definitely supportive in terms of identifying your strengths and supporting you to step outside your comfort zone. They make you realise, Oh yeah, I can do this

When I was younger, I used a youth service outside of YSAS, and I had feedback and complaints that just kept snowballing over time.

I had no outlet for me to share how I felt, and I knew if I told my case worker they would take it personally and nothing would be done.

It’s really important to me that young people know they can share their feedback and complaints. Because we want to be a better service. We want to grow.

Playing a bit of sport helps the kids with their physical and mental health. It also gives them something fun to do.

It helps them build more positive connections with peers and adults. It’s about building healthier connections.

To put on an event that gets over 600 community members active, it was probably my most rewarding day at YSAS so far.

When I was a kid, I was exposed to frequent police raids, family violence, sexual abuse and mental illness. There were a lot of bad people around me all the time, and I saw things that no child should.

I felt like I had nowhere to go.

When I needed an escape from home or the streets, they found me accommodation. When I wanted to stop using, they supported me from my detoxes. And when I needed more personal support, they connected me with my youth worker, Warren.