Russell Matheson (Macarthur, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to congratulate Father Chris Riley's Youth Off The Streets on the relaunch of their outreach service in Macquarie Fields. Since 2012, Youth Off The Streets has offered a crucial lifeline for Macarthur youth who are facing challenges of homelessness, drug and alcohol dependency, exclusion from school, neglect and abuse. Youth Off The Streets works with these young people through a wide variety of services to turn their lives around and overcome immense personal traumas, such as neglect and physical, psychological and emotional abuse.

The service was founded by Father Chris Riley in 1991. It began with a single food van that delivered meals to young homeless people on the streets of Kings Cross. Now, 23 years later, it has developed an extensive and impressive range of programs that service not only the Macarthur region but also other areas in Western Sydney, south-western Sydney and the Hunter Valley. Some of the Youth Off The Streets services in Macquarie Fields include accredited schooling for years 7 to 10; service learning projects which involve young people assisting the community; support for transition to further education training and employment; programs focused on health and wellbeing; recreation facilities and programs; and a youth trainee worker program.

This stable community organisation is always looking for new ways to create a safe and engaging environment in the Macarthur region. It was with great pleasure that I attended the launch of a new outreach service recently at the Koch Centre in Macquarie Fields. The outreach service focuses on engaging disadvantaged youth aged between 12 and 21 years in their own environment through activities that allow young people to interact, socialise and meet youth workers. The purpose of the service is to help these young people reach their full potential by re-engaging them with the community, education and employment opportunities. Outreach starts with low-key activities such as free barbecues and recreational activities, before building up to more structured and specific activities as trust and acceptance in the community grows. The organisation has experienced great success in re-engaging disadvantaged youth since it first began the outreach service in 2005. I look forward to seeing it flourish into the future in the Macarthur region.

Seeing the wonderful turnout at the launch and meeting some of the inspiring young people working to implement the service reminded me, once again, what a wonderful and caring community that exists within Macarthur. I would like to take the opportunity to praise Teresa Tree for her role in organising the wonderful launch. The launch was a lively event that drew together a wide variety of community groups and leaders ranging from the arts to the NRL junior development team led by Drew Dalton. I would also like to congratulate all of the wonderful people at Macquarie Fields Youth Off The Streets branch for their dedicated efforts in reinvigorating the outreach service in the local area. On behalf of the Macarthur community, thank you for contributing your time and experience to Macarthur's youth. Your work in directing young people who have lost their way towards a bright and better future is an invaluable contribution to our community.

I would like to wish all members of the House a happy, safe and enjoyable Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

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