Tamworth Regional Youth Centre programs assist young people with bullying

The centre is a “bully free zone” with staff promoting a harmonious environment for what could be as many as 50 young people who enter the building each day.

It’s also a safe place for troubled kids to have their concerns heard.

For Tamworth Regional Council’s youth services acting team leader, Veronica Filby, the connection between Youthie staff and its patrons is an important one.

“The activities and programs allow the kids to connect with our youth workers aswell and talk to them about issues they might be having,” she said.

“They do a lot of art and music programs and when they do that it provides the base for conversation to start.

“It’s providing an opportunity for them to be a part of something that is enjoyable but also something that they can be creative with.

“Even playing a game of pool with a young person allows the opportunity to have a conversation and that builds up the confidence for them to talk about their problems with you.”

Mrs Filby said the Youthie was a bully free zone with a strict policy enforced.

“We don’t accept any form of bullying,” she said.

“All our youth are asked to respect each other and support each other. It is a safe space for kids to come and be supported.”

Mrs Filby said identifying children who are experiencing peer problems was a hard task.

However, she admitted with social media putting children at even more risk of bullying, it was important to offer an outlet for young people.

“We see kids who are very quiet but we also see kids who potentially try and get attention aswell,” she said.

“They might be a little more noisy when they’re having troubles, we see both (sides).

“While we don’t see it at The Youthie itself, every child we see come through has some sort of social media exposure.

“They either have Facebook or Instagram accounts and Snapchat is also popular with the kids.

“There is no way to escape it anymore and a lot of the time it’s where bullying starts.

“We try to create opportunities to get off their phones and do things that don’t involve social media.

“We do art workshops and give them something else to do that doesn’t involve going home and getting on Facebook.

“It is definitely worse then ever, but I think if they’re on their phones all the time and if they’re never without them, they’re never going to get away from it.”

She said Youth Week will take place in April with a swag of opportunities on offer for young people across the region.

She said it would be another opportunity for youth workers to engage with Tamworth’s young people.