If you live in Coledale, there's a good chance you recognise Brad Sutherland.
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In fact, you might even know where the long-time youth worker lives.
Mr Sutherland says there have been "many times" young people have knocked on his front door, looking for a helping hand.
"They're extended family, so to speak. Whether they're straight-laced or off the rails you've gotta feel for them, and not just for the kid but for their parents or grandparents," he said.
During his three-plus decades of youth work, Mr Sutherland has seen kids struggle with drug addictions, abusive households, or missing meals.
"There's a lot of sad stories out there. Kids who have ended up in prison or have had drugs ruin their lives and after a few years you go to their funeral. A lot of kids suffer and go without," he says.
But he also says the secret to working with kids is never giving up, even if they make poor choices.
"You never give up on them. I might not like their decisions, but you've always got to listen," Mr Sutherland said.
"It's about getting that trust, letting them know you're gonna be there for them or have a bed there for them, or if they're hungry they can knock on your door or your window."
Now recently retired, this pillar of community is calling on his community to come together in support of the next generation.
His main ask? Unlock the Youthie's full potential.
Mr Sutherland's vision is to use the Tamworth Regional Youth Centre - the Youthie - and next-door Centenary Park for events like sports tournaments, music concerts, and everything in between.
"We've got the football field here beside us and there's a basketball court built recently. We've finally got toilets there as well. That was a big killer for a while, as soon as you wanted the toilet you had to leave."
But now that the 3000-resident suburb has access to more than one public toilet, Mr Sutherland says all that's missing is a bit of community organisation, a bit of investment, and some good old-fashioned elbow grease.
"A building like this [the Youthie] might not mean much to some parts of the community, but the community I live in just wants to be treated like everybody else, to have somewhere to go just to hang out or get a meat pie," Mr Sutherland said.
A lifetime of service
Before he was known as the godfather of the Youthie, Brad Sutherland got his start working in Endeavour House - a maximum-security juvenile detention centre for boys aged 15 to 18.
A young man himself at the time, Mr Sutherland said the experience shaped his entire life.
"That opened me up to a whole different world there," he said.
"It taught me that we all come from different shapes, different backgrounds. I could relate to a lot of the stuff they were going through: parents not working, or not having parents, or living with one parent, or nan and pop."
"A lot of the bad choices that put them there came from poverty ... but I think a couple of 'em just need someone to guide them."
Endeavour House was closed in the late eighties and reopened in its current form as the Tamworth Correctional Centre in 1991.
After it closed, Mr Sutherland began dedicating his life to connecting kids and young adults to productive hobbies to channel their passion.
"I wanted to continue that work after it shut down. Luckily I was given the opportunity to work with council as a youth worker in 1998," he said.
His main goal during this time was to provide young people with productive outlets to latch on to.
"Everyone's got something they're good at: could be sport, could be games. I was doing my best to use sports to keep kids from going into places on the wrong side of the law," Mr Sutherland said.
He was instrumental in running several programs over the years and was eventually recognised with a Youth Services Community Award.
But even this honour went straight back into his work getting kids into sport, with the prize money paying for socks, shorts, and registration fees for children that couldn't afford them.
"Kids around here have been told they're not going to become much because they live in a certain area or they go to a certain school or there's too many different-coloured skin people in their sporting groups," Mr Sutherland said.
"But I've seen so many kids prove them wrong."
His son Marc Sutherland says his dad never gives up "and never shuts up" when it comes to advocating for young people, especially those that come from marginalised backgrounds.
"Another big thing that dad has highlighted for a lot of people is the importance of relationships. A huge part of youth work is building relationships, whether it's through sport, music, table tennis, or just having a meal together," the younger Sutherland said.
Taking a village
Getting the Youthie built in West Tamworth remains Brad Sutherland's proudest achievement.
"A lot of people thought it was built in the wrong place, but it was important to us to have it somewhere on this side of Tamworth where a lot of youth live and there's not much to do," he said.
The Youthie opened nearly ten years ago, following relentless advocacy from Mr Sutherland and a funding opportunity facilitated by Tamworth Regional Council.
Mr Sutherland worked closely with council youth services coordinator Steve Blanch to design the $2.5 million facility to suit an area he says "probably hasn't had a new shop open for about a quarter of a century".
The youth centre came with many bells and whistles, including a performance stage and recording studio to inspire kids' creativity.
But Mr Sutherland says the real game-changer was simply having a fully-functioning canteen
"To have somewhere to go just to get a hot chip or a meat pie, that's really made a difference for a lot of folks," he said.
Now that he's retired, Mr Sutherland says he's looking forward to seeing what the next generation of youth workers and advocates can build.
He says he's confident the staff and organisations in the Youthie will inject the youth centre with their own vision and passion, carrying on a legacy of putting kids on the right path which in turn was inspired by the generation before him.
And, of course, they might still see his familiar face checking in on occasion.
"I think they'll see me in the community from time to time, and honestly I'd like to keep on helping put on events," Mr Sutherland said.