The Bay and Basin Youth Centre “Chill Out” was located in the disused Squash Courts at St Georges Basin Country Club. The Sanctuary Point Youth Club included an Innovation Centre, Free WiFi, Computers, a pool table, Xbox and more.
“Chill Out” was opened on 29th February 2016. It was run by Volunteers Monday – Friday from 3.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. and was for youth aged 13 years to 18 years.
Upstairs at the Youth Centre, there was a bank of computers where youth would complete homework and play online games. Downstairs in the old squash courts, youth could play pool, table tennis, and table soccer.
The youth centre operated from February 2016 until its closure in 2017, aiming to support local youth. The majority of participants were well-behaved and expressed deep disappointment when the centre had to close. Several factors led to the project’s conclusion:
- Extensive renovations at the Country Club in 2017 left the Youth Club without a suitable venue.
- Challenges in securing sustained funding grants for Youth Worker/s wages.
- Inadequate support from the broader Sanctuary Point Community for volunteer engagement beyond Sanctuary Point Pride members.
- Limited backing from the Local Council, State government, government agencies, and community organizations essential for sustaining operations.”
Youth Centre “Chill Out” Q&A
How did youth access the Youth Centre?
The Youth Club operated in the disused squash courts at St Georges Basin Country Club. To avoid issues with accessing the country club, security pads were installed to stop entry from both inside and outside the Youth Club area. The Youth Club was monitored by two staff, upstairs and downstairs, and there was never an issue with respect to youth accessing the club.
What was the Check-in procedure?
The Youth Club members were required to check in as soon as they arrived and check out when they left. This was done manually first and then by computer as time went on.
What was the layout of the youth club?
The premises consisted of two rooms downstairs (old squash courts). One with a pool table and table tennis plus the necessary equipment. The other had tables, chairs, sofas, bookshelves, music equipment, board games, jigsaws and TV. There were also male and female showers and toilets.
Upstairs was a fully equipped small kitchen and a small office for the Youth Worker. There was also a large room with sofas, tables, shelves, whiteboards and computers. The computers were donated to the Club by the PCYC Nowra, Microsoft donated the software, and they were set up so youth could log in using their DET accounts and could not access inappropriate sites. From upstairs, Youth Workers and Volunteers could observe the activities downstairs.
Sanctuary Point Community Pride used this area for their monthly meetings. The Youth Club Committee also used this area and volunteers for meetings.
How did the youth club utilise the Volunteers?
There were always at least two volunteers working each shift, and they were deployed upstairs and downstairs.
After the paid Youth Worker left, volunteer staff from many different backgrounds kept the Youth Club going for as long as possible. Probity checks were conducted on all volunteers; they all held valid Working with Children’s Check and first aid qualifications.
Volunteers came from a number of different backgrounds, including:
- Police
- Probation and Parole
- Youth Work
- Drug and Alcohol counsellor
- Teaching
- Aged Care
- Senior Public Serice
- Homeless Shelter Management
- Librarian
- Health & Fitness Instruction
- Computers/IT
- Office Administration
- Lifeline Counselling
- Credit line Councillor
These skills were utilised in the management of the club, and their experience was invaluable.
How old were the youth clubs’ clients?
In general, the Youth Club catered for youth 13 to 18 years, and it provided an out-of-school facility for children of high school age.
What was a typical afternoon/evening at the Youth Club?
The youth played pool and table tennis (with and without staff), learned computer skills, and got assistance with resumes. Health and fitness sessions were offered, and some youth learned to put on makeup and nail polish from volunteers. Youth using the computers received assistance with homework if requested and, in some cases, literacy and numeracy. Art and other activities were a favourite with a lot of the females.
What role did food play at the youth Club (Food security)?
Youth who attended the club were fed occasional toasted sandwiches or pizza but mostly food donated by the local Bakery – Bakehouse Espresso Group. Youth would collect the donated bread, cakes, pies and sausage rolls daily. No Youth Club member went hungry. Some youth attended the club so that they could have a hot meal that day.
What were the behaviours of the youth like?
The staff/volunteers mostly had good relationships with youth club members and occasionally meet them now. They are so pleased to see they are doing well. There were, however, a couple of youths who did break club rules and were eventually banned from attending. This resulted in them smashing the entry door from the outside. This was done once when staff were in attendance and again in the early hours of the morning when they were caught on security cameras. These youth were intent on spoiling things for the others, and the youth club board decided to close the youth club sooner than they would have done to be fair to the Country Club, which was very much appreciated.
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