Hi, my name is Haylie and I'm a 14-year-old autistic female living in a regional area, currently in year 9. In the last 3 years, since entering high school, I have developed an interest in taking on leadership roles within my community. My main way of doing so has been by joining different youth councils and advisory groups, which is what I am here to talk about today.
For those living in metropolitan areas, these types of groups are much more common to come across, giving many ways to be involved in that particular community and have a say in matters affecting that area. But for young people like myself, living in regional areas, these groups can be quite challenging to find in local communities, either because of lack of interest or people willing to start them.
At the start of year 8, after having been unsuccessful in re-applying for my school's student representative council, I began researching in an attempt to find any youth councils or representative groups in my area. From my research, I was only able to find one group in my community, of which I had missed the application deadline for.
Surprised by my findings, I began to ask staff at my school if they knew of any, which they didn't. Next, I asked my local council, which was when I found out that the group that I’d already come across was the only one in my local area. When I asked about this, I did find out about YMCA's Junior Parliament program, along with YACSA. After being told this, I decided to sign up for the Junior Parliament program, along with becoming a YACSA young member.
A few months later, I also sent an email to my local member of parliament to share my concern about the lack of groups on offer in the area and later ended up meeting with them. After this, I was introduced to a couple other members of the community. One of which was the chairperson of a local mental health organisation.
Over time, I began to speak further with the chairperson of the mental health organisation, along with the local council, while also reaching out to other local organisations to see if any new groups were being made. From these discussions, ideas started to form and multiple community development projects slowly began.
At the end of year 8 and the start of year 9, I did some more research, this time looking at what larger groups were on offer. From this, I was able to find a couple state-wide groups, both of which I applied for. I was successful in joining one of the groups and, at the time of writing, am yet to find out about my application to the other group.
Making new advisory groups or councils in local areas would allow for young people to have the opportunity to make a positive change within their local communities, while building many great skills and developing new interests. Allowing them to help shape the groups is another great idea, as it helps to incorporate topics and ideas affecting the local area that they’re passionate about, along with making a more comfortable and motivating environment for those involved.
If you happen to find yourself in a similar situation, my best advice is to step out of your comfort zone and try something different. Reaching out to decision makers in your community, whether that be your local council, members of parliament, or youth organisations in your community. It is a great way to have you voice heard. Whether it be to try and start a group in your area, or to voice your ideas and concerns yourself, it is a great way to do so and will allow you to meet many new people and learn new things in the process.
Don't let failure discourage you. If you don't get the result you were hoping for, keep trying. With enough time and effort, anything is possible. No matter how big or small you goal is, it can be achieved if you keep trying and putting in all your effort.
