Adelaide Youth Support Program
Adelaide Youth Support Program aims to increase social connections and employability skills for international students who are staying in the City of Adelaide and unable to return to their home countries.
International students have been identified as a group particularly impacted by the COVID-19 with many of them being unable to travel home to their families in the summer holidays. They are also more depended on part-time work as they are excluded from the government's welfare packages.
The Adelaide Youth Support Program aims to engage international students and other young people in the city who have been affected by increased social isolation post-COVID-19. The aim is to increase social connections, reduced social isolation, improve employability skills and enhance social and economic wellbeing.
The headspace Adelaide Youth Reference Group (YRG) and headspace Adelaide Talkin’ About Youth headspace Youth Ambassador (TAYhYA) program will form the Youth Leadership Group to lead the development and implementation of this project.
The project will deliver two programs focused on employability skills and social connections as the primary needs of this group. Topics for regular social activities and employability workshops will be developed with attendees and the Youth Leadership Group. Workshops will be delivered by agencies experienced in working with young people and held in accessible youth-friendly city locations. The project will be delivered through workshops and ongoing social events from November 2020 to July 2021.
Project Achievements
This project has delivered social and employability programs to socially isolated young people who live, work or study in the city of Adelaide. This was delivered by a partnership between the City of Adelaide and Headspace Adelaide, with the support of Study Adelaide. Activities were determined by the youth leadership group, supported and facilitated by headspace Adelaide.
International students were targeted in particular due to the major impacts of Covid-19 on this cohort, including social connection, employment, mental health stressors and the limited family support available for this group.
The partnership with headspace Adelaide enabled youth ambassadors to attend events and provide information to these young people about mental health services available in the city. Of those surveyed; 90 percent stated they were highly satisfied with the event they attended, and 92.7 percent would attend again or recommend to others.
In addition to social and employability programs, the project was able to deliver two healthy cooking on a budget workshop to vulnerable young people identified though the Adelaide University Union Student Care team. These young people were able to attend a cooking demonstration and learn about the Baptist Care food hub, hence providing them with knowledge and ability to access a low-cost food provider after this project finishes.
The project delivered above target outcomes in providing 15 social connection events and 10 employability workshops for almost 400 young people in the city. This successful model of delivery has now been adopted by headspace for future use.
Project Outcomes
79% of participants that completed the evaluation felt highly connected to others which can lead to improved community social and emotional wellbeing. All events were held within the local community and helped expose participants to different areas/communities and aspects of the city. Anecdotally the Community Engagement Officer (City of Adelaide Support) noticed a high level of connection amongst participants at most events. Often many connecting with each other through social platforms with plans to catch up again outside of the event.
Overall, 392 young people attended activities and over 400 young people were involved throughout the program. Please see the Summary of Activities report for a list of events facilitated under this grant.
All participants were provided with increased knowledge in headspace services. Participants also gained increase knowledge of Baptist Care services which can contribute to their economic and wellbeing resilience. This service will help combat food insecurity for this group in the future.
90% were highly satisfied with the event they attended and would recommend to a friend.
62 young people were able to receive accredited training which increases their employability and therefore economic resilience.
Attendees have increased knowledge of headspace services in the city and were encouraged to follow headspace and CoA social media (or sign up for to CoA What's On newsletter). It is anticipated this increased knowledge of services and activities will assist them in future wellbeing, social and employability goals.
The evaluation was undertaken by Results Based Accountability framework and provided 3 key indicators of success including:
- How much did we do?
- How well did we do it?
- Is anyone better off?
In order to evaluate this, headspace Adelaide developed an evaluation framework and 111 attendees completed an evaluation. Observations from staff and the Community Engagement Officer (City of Adelaide Support) were also noted.
How much did we do?
25 social and employability events were conducted across the grant period from October 2020 to August 2021. 392 young people were involved as participants with 415 young people within the target cohort involved in the project overall.
How well did we do it?
Of those surveyed 90% were highly satisfied with the event they attended. In addition, the relationship between headspace and City of Adelaide has been strengthened and ongoing joint program activities are likely in the future.
Is anyone better off?
- 79% felt connected to others.
- Knowledge of headspace services increased.
- Food security increased due to cooking workshops and food provided at most events.
- 62 young people achieved an accredited training certificate.
Ongoing Learning and collaborations
The model has been successful and is planned to be replicated in the future by other headspace centres. The project has helped to build and cement the relationship between the council and headspace. This is particularly important for the City of Adelaide, where YP aged 18 to 24 years make up approximately 30% of the resident population.
Future projects are already being planned. The smaller group events/workshops have also been adopted by headspace Adelaide for future events as covid-19 continues to impact communities.
For the City of Adelaide, it has helped strengthen the relationship between the Libraries and Wellbeing Team. It has also further strengthened a relationship with the accounts payable and wellbeing team - particularly the ability to run programs with a small cost for attendees.
This project has received funding from the Department of Human Services Youth-led COVID-19 Recovery Grants and administered by the Local Government Association of South Australia.
