As I write this, 16 to 39-year-olds across NSW (including myself) are lining up for the AstraZeneca vaccine, an option that is not preferred, but one that will help keep our community safe.
Our youth are showing leadership across a whole range of issues and are a significant component of the essential workforce that has kept many of us safe during this time.
Our youth are also some of those taking the biggest risks, such as attending beach parties.
This, to me, outlines the spectrum on which youth engage with their community.
These are our future leaders who will be, and are already, grappling with some of the most complex challenges of our time.
So how are we supporting and helping to prepare these upcoming leaders? How are we establishing dialogue that engages young people in society?
Alongside the Intergenerational Report released earlier this year, the inaugural Australia's Youth report provided some valuable insights.
While many of us might have been aware of obstacles such as insecure work, financial instability and precarious housing prospects, mental and physical health were further established to be significant areas of concern facing our nation's young.
In my high school days I attending all sorts of youth events, including a youth reconciliation forum and the Da Bounce Factor series at the Palais Royale.
To be given the title of youth delegate at such a forum was empowering and exhilarating, and it compelled me to spend my time there purposefully.
When the Palais venue was lost (to a local eyesore), The Loft continued some of this work, but it too came to pass.
These places were where young people could shine, seek mentorship, facilitate recreation, build skills, access information and opportunities, or even just escape the weight of everyday burdens on young shoulders.
It stands to reason then that youth spaces might be key to coordinating a local response that addresses mental and physical health concerns.
Further, around the world, there are great examples of such spaces improving youth esteem while simultaneously reducing conflict surrounding any behaviour less consistent with the broader community.
To do this well, we need to be properly informed on our local context.
In Newcastle, our most recent report into youth services and engagement in our LGA was published in 2010, more than 10 years ago. We are now talking about a completely different demographic to which this report referred.
One strong positive of this albeit now dated report was the acknowledged necessity to give specific attention to the experience of young folk in Wards 3 and 4, outside the CBD where such spaces and services have been concentrated.
With the large UoN Callaghan campus and many students living in Ward 3 and 4, there is great potential in bringing youth spaces and services to where people live in addition to those in the CBD.
I moved out of Jesmond part way through high school, but I still remember that the most exciting thing to do in our 'hood leading up to that was to see what was happening in Stockland Jesmond (now known as Jesmond Central).
We were absolutely beside ourselves with excitement when Heaton Park scored a skate bowl in the mid 90s (I did have roller blades but didn't have Poppy Starr Olsen as a role model, so it was just about somewhere to hang out).
The Jesmond Neighbourhood Centre was an important exception that did have great programs, especially during school holidays.
It's important to acknowledge the initiatives that we do have going.
I have been particularly impressed with the work of our youth council over the past few years and to see their ideas being taken on board by the sitting council.
I am delighted also to see youth taking up opportunities and upskilling through apprenticeships.
The intention would never be to replace such important work. Well-established youth hubs would add to this mix by providing a solid base for such activities and potentially opening them to an even broader demographic.
The next council will have a fresh opportunity to put this significant work front and centre.
But first we need an up-to-date report into youth services and engagement in the city, and to re-establish youth spaces inside and outside the CBD.
