Young people in crisis
By Julia Perkins
The federal government's May 4 white paper emphasises the need for a skilled work force. This means, practically, a focus on increased school retention rates, retraining of long-term unemployed and the introduction of "key competencies" in the schooling system.
All of this seems quite reasonable until we realise the irony: the marked increase in closures of secondary schools over the last few years — particularly those schools catering to disadvantaged youth.
Among the secondary schools situated in low income areas, the contradictions are even clearer. Schools in Sydney's outer west are already overcrowded. To compound this problem, no school legally has to accept a young person if they do not live in the area associated with that school. Furthermore, a school can refuse to accept a young person if they have a record of difficult behaviour, even if they are not yet 14 years and 9 months of age (the legal age for leaving school).
Where then are the services that are resourced adequately and willing to cater for these young people in crisis?
Those young people unable to contend with school for whatever reason completely miss out on education and, therefore, any decent future. Young people who miss out on the key competencies needed for employment become a large pool of unskilled labour, which the government professes cannot possibly exist under its new strategies, and for whom there is no real future in the labour market.
One of these key competencies is literacy. The most recent nationwide official figures for illiteracy available are in a report on "Education, Employment and Training" presented to a House of Representatives standing committee in 1992. The range for students finishing primary school with some literacy problems was quoted as being 10-20%. Rates quoted for illiteracy in NSW have been as high as 25% for secondary students. Youth unemployment figures for NSW are recorded as high as 18% in Liverpool and 20% in Cabramatta.
Domestic violence, physical and sexual abuse, low self-esteem, depression, anger, homelessness, theft, gang violence, drug abuse — these are some of the more obvious hallmarks of economic hardship in Sydney's outer west. For many young people whose backgrounds bear the marks of such crisis, the rigid structure and nature of secondary schools are not always something they feel equipped to handle.
And discrimination and stereotyping of young homeless youth are rife within our secondary schools. Young people living in refuges are often reluctant to let the schools know this, as they tend to be labelled troublemakers — even harassed by teachers, particularly for their clothing or lack of it.
Until there is decent funding to the secondary education system and until the needs of youth in crisis are seriously addressed, the ideals of the white paper will remain fantastical. Increased funding to youth services, serious job creation and adequate housing are urgently needed. Pressure from community workers and the young people themselves is needed as well as a real alternative to the Liberal/Labour farce.
A number of community workers and young people from the south-west Sydney area have been involved in organising a youth protest concert, entitled the "DORS" concert. The anagram stands for "Demanding Our Rights". The concert, to be held in early February 1995, aims to provide a fun event for young people at which they are given the opportunity to highlight issues directly affecting them.
People have been meeting fortnightly in Fairfield on Wednesday evenings to organise the event. Any interested person is welcome to come along. The next meetings are on September 7 and 21 at the "Green Room" in Fairfield at 5.30pm. Any queries, contact Mara (790 3093), Mike (604 8502), Ann or Julia (824 0192).
[Julia Perkins is coordinator of the Liverpool Youth Refuge.]