Marlborough Youth Trust Awareness Walk Event

Marlborough Youth Hui feedback, youth have said they want to be safer in their community. Youth want family violence to stop, and encourage respectful relationships- they want know where they can go for support for themselves or a friend if they need help.

Marlborough is a safe place for many, but not all feel that way – and Marlborough’s youth want to highlight the need for them to feel safer during this year’s New Zealand Youth Week events.

An awareness walk on Saturday May 7 will focus on this. The event starts at MySpace on Redwood Street at 10am, with speakers, a barbeque at noon, and then a walk at 12.30pm, returning to MySpace to put light blue ribbons of remembrance on the youth centre’s fence to represent the youth who have suffered from violence in our community.

MySpace youth worker Maxine Sweeney says this year’s New Zealand Youth Week theme is “Our Voices Matter – we deserve to be heard”.

The week runs from May 7 to May 15 this year.

“Our young people are telling us that this is an important topic for them. One of the findings and recommendations of the Marlborough youth hui of 90 young people in 2020 was that they want to feel safer in our community,” Maxine says,

“We need to listen to what they have to say, take onboard what they have to say, and see what we can do in our community to make them feel empowered and safer.”

The event on May 7 will provide an opportunity for young people to learn about ways they can get support from different agencies in the community. These include Maata Waka, The Police, and the MVIP initiative.

New Zealand Youth Week is a New Zealand-wide initiative that runs each year, and it aims to give young people a chance to highlight important issues and celebrate young people.

Young people are a vitally important part of the Marlborough community, and New Zealand Youth Week gives a great opportunity for youth to stand up and get involved in their local community.

“Council’s annual plan and the economic wellbeing plan are open for consultation right now.”

For more information, contact MySpace 03 5793143 or Maxine Sweeney on 021 161 4671.