Jazmine is a 16-year-old Pal­awa girl living in Gagebrook. Jazmine’s journey towards becoming a change-maker began at a young age, shaped by her experiences growing up in a family that was always volunteering in some way. Jazmine explains, however, this desire to get involved in her local community was ignit­ed in recent times through the ‘Community Creators’ program being run at the Jordan River Learning Federation – Senior School. ‘Community Creators’ is an initiative that was run by Brighton Council’s Communi­ty Development Officer Kylie Murphy in conjunction with place-based worker Joselle Griffin from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service (TALS) in 2024, with the full support of the school and teachers.

Catalyst for change

Jazmine said, “The regular sessions at the school made me realise what it means to be part of a community and volunteering. Young people DO have a voice and more power to drive change than many realise. ‘Community Creators’ made me realise I am interest­ed in being a social worker and working alongside other young people. I have learnt there are more people in the community who care about young people than I realised, and I have seen firsthand how this can have a positive impact on local kids’ lives. So much goes on behind the scenes and volunteers are definitely not given the recog­nition they deserve a lot of the time.”

From being involved in ‘Com­munity Creators’ Jazmine discovered the Brighton Youth Action Group (BYAG) and has become a passionate member of BYAG.

“At first, I thought BYAG was going to be just pizza and talking but it is more struc­tured, in a good way. We have made connections with each other, and it feels like a family. Kylie, Joselle and John have made me want to be a social worker. They talk ‘with us’ not ‘to us’.”

When asked what she has learnt from her experiences with ‘Community Creators’ and BYAG, Jazmine said, “I have discovered that young people like me have voices and we are not afraid to use them! It is a lot about fighting the stigma associated with Gagebrook and Bridgewater. There is a belief that it’s all tough or bad cookies out here but in reality, there are so many lovely people living in our area and so many opportunities.”

With participation comes opportunities

Jazmine reflects on the many experiences and opportunities that have come her way just in the last 12 months because of getting involved with ‘Commu­nity Creators’ and BYAG.

“I have been able to attend the two day Asset Based Commu­nity Development training in Bridgewater, become part of the Communities for Children Steering Committee, assisted with the newly established ‘bump in’ place called Engage Youth Cove Creek in Gage­brook and become a member of the Bridgewater Youth Hub project team working on the ideas for what this might be. All of these things have grown me into community and given me opportunities to interact with community and make connections.”

Jazmine is particularly pas­sionate about Engage Youth Cove Creek, which takes place in Gagebrook where she lives every two weeks.

“We want to make Gagebrook kids love Gagebrook and feel more included. Not a lot hap­pens in our area for older kids, but this is about every couple of weeks providing a safe space on a Friday afternoon. Kids can come and get away from bad situations and are not judged. We have pinball, free food and drinks, a chill out area, music and the PCYC come and do a BBQ.”

Looking ahead

Jazmine has big hopes that someone from our area will become well known and famous to bring awareness to all the good things that are happening.

“Even if it is not someone famous, it would be great if more politicians showed up at events just to show they are on our side, not just there for the media but genuinely have our backs and help fight the stig­ma. I also think more positive male role models for the young boys and men would make a big difference. For example, so many kids get penalised for others’ bad behaviour on or around public transport.”

Fight the stigma

Jazmine is driven by a desire to fight the negative stereotypes and stigma often forced on those who live in Gagebrook or Bridgewater. She sees an opportunity to do this through bringing to the broader com­munity’s attention all the good people who are doing good things every day, and demon­strating that community pride is alive and well in our area.