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Laidley Community Centre hosted its Spook Up event on Friday 13 March, offering a youth-friendly evening packed with free activities for families.
The event featured Ghostly Games Entertainment, Super Slot Cars, and Drace the Sensory Illusionist and Hypnotist, while giving young people the chance to connect with a variety of local support services.
Youth Worker Kaitlyn Fleming, who started at the centre in January. said the event was a great example of how the centre supports young people through a wide range of programs.
"I started in January working to raise youth awareness through implementing several initiatives; she said. "The first one was called ID Sorted, which assists young people step by step in obtaining their
birth certificates, photo ID cards, and even tax file numbers.
"Our next event, scheduled for the 27th of this month, is focused on Financial Education through a Money Made Simple session."
"This session will guide youth on how to save, understand superannuation, and read payslips. We also make it engaging by incorporating games into the learning process. During the school holidays, we cater to younger participants aged 12 to 16, while the sessions during the school term are designed for those aged 16 to 25".
Ms Fleming said the centre encouraged youth input through its recent advisory board initiative.
"We've got three members at the moment for the advisory committee," she said. "Their whole role is to ensure that this initia-
tive is youth-driven. I'm from Melbourne, so this isn't my scene; I don't know much about what goes on in the schools around here. I love learning about it, but it's the students who have experienced it and know what the gaps are, and we want them to provide their inputs on what support they want to see".
Looking ahead, Laidley Youth Event Week on 15 April at the Laidley Sports Centre will give 10-17-year-olds the chance to explore sports, technology, and arts activities.
"We're going to be doing something like a round robin tournament for Youth Week, where participants can go to each service, engage in activities and games, and learn more about what each service offers and how we can assist them" Ms Fleming said.