CREATE supported Young Consultants in WA to engage in a Policy Roundtable where they shared their views and ideas with the Office of the Minister for Child Protection and the Chief Practitioner for Child Protection.
The young people shared their unique lived experiences and workshopped tangible policy changes that could create real improvements for young people in the way they access health services and safeguard their wellbeing.
“Listen to young people’s health needs – don't dismiss our symptoms.”
“We need a resource that has a list of all the acronyms they use for [health] conditions and information about how to treat the condition, what are treatment options.”
”I felt quite alone, isolated, because I did not have someone or a doctor to understand what I was actually going through. But I was lucky. I kept seeing different doctors and I did eventually find the right GP...”
Young people discussed 3 key policy priority areas:
1. Prevention including providing young people with free access to gyms & 1:1 coaching
2. Early intervention including ensuring child-centred medical support and building a strategy to increase the number of regional services
3. Crisis responses and ensuring young people can get help when they need.
Find out more about their policy priority areas and recommendations for change in our Roundtable Report.
CREATE would like to thank all of the young people involved, who also undertook extensive preparation for this important meeting. We also wanted to thank the Office of the Minister for Child Protection and the Chief Practitioner for Child Protection for taking the time to show up and listen to our Young Consultants solutions for change.
What's next
The Department of Communities will keep listening the Young Consultants and CREATE to discuss these ideas further, and think about how to support young people to continue to advocate for these policy ideas and solutions.
Watch this space for more updates. To find out how to get involved with CREATE, email wa@create.org.au
