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Life skills for young people

Important life skills for adulting

As young people navigate and survive the challenges of growing up – their everyday life skills are so important.

More young people today are taking a little longer to grow up than in past generations with mixed success. It’s a good thing that teenagers are granted a slower trajectory into adulthood – they tend to stay in school longer and tend to go on to further education as opposed to getting married young and starting a family at a young age.

Today’s delayed adulthood has many benefits but it also means that some young people are missing out on life skills. Skills that are important for all young people but especially so for the ones who need to grow up a little quicker due to their circumstances – like the children and young people who come to us.

Here are some of the skills young people should be developing:

Money and budgeting skills

In an increasingly digitalised world, it is important to teach young people the value of money.

Don’t go full digital – keep cash around!

Show teens:

  • how to open a bank account
  • where the ATMs are and how to use them
  • how to transfer money online
  • how to pay bills – online, over the phone and in person
  • how to save, budget for a goal or an emergency
  • the importance of giving to others, sharing what you have.

Cooking/food skills

Some young people naturally want to cook and experiment in the kitchen but for the vast majority, the adults in their lives take care of buying groceries and cooking for them. What happens when they move out – do they live on cereal, take away and baked beans?

Teach young people:

  • where to go grocery shopping
  • the correct amounts to ask for – a dozen eggs, half a kilo of nuts, a litre of juice.
  • how to identify basic ingredients in food
  • how to eat healthily

Show young people how to:

  • safely prepare and store food
  • use kitchen appliances – the cooker, oven, kettle, toaster, microwave, dishwasher, iron

Do they know the hazards of leaving gas on, of sticking anything into an electrical appliance, of not putting anything metal in the microwave (including foil)?

Clothing

Young people should know where to shop and what to shop for – such as choosing the right clothes for the right occasion, for example an interview.

Show young people:

  • what clothes will last, what clothes will require hand washing or ironing

How to:

  • read the labels on clothing
  • match items of clothing
  • do laundry – separating whites and colours, where the detergent goes, what setting to put the machine on
  • tie a tie
  • iron a shirt
  • organise a wardrobe
  • pack a suitcase
  • sew (perhaps this is going too far… but we can always try!)
Teen doing laundry

Personal grooming/hygiene

Some young people are not aware of the need for personal hygiene and grooming and this lack of awareness needs to be taken care of sensitively so not to offend the young person.

Inform the young people about the need for:

  • daily showering
  • oral hygiene
  • washing hair
  • cutting nails
  • what products to use
  • shaving
  • menstrual care and hygiene

House keeping

Sounds boring to a teen or young person but, nonetheless, skills to keep a home are important!

  • making sure their home is clean and tidy
  • knowing how to vacuum, mop, change sheets and make a bed
  • understanding the importance of clean kitchens, bathrooms, fridges and taking out the bins
  • knowing how to recycle

Life skills

We do so much for our children and young people that the importance of being able to accomplish basic tasks can be overlooked, like:

  • making/cancelling appointments
  • writing a letter and posting it
  • crafting an email
  • using a phone (most young people today will know this)
  • how to vote
  • how to use public transport
  • how to read a map and use GPS
  • how to drive and basic auto maintenance skills – change a tire, get gas, driver insurance
  • basic DIY – change a light blub, change a fuse, unblock a toilet/sink, fix a dripping tap
Teen fixing a drawer

Safety and first aid

Young people should know about:

  • physical and mental health/exercise
  • the importance of a healthy/balanced lifestyle
  • self-care
  • how and when to seek help
  • basic first aid
  • over the counter medication
  • who to call in an emergency
  • how to look out for other people
  • staying safe – online and in real life situations
  • basic survival

Healthy relationships

We live in a very confusing world and relationships are difficult to navigate for young people so it is important that they know what is ok and what’s not.

We need to teach young people about:

  • boundaries
  • mutual respect
  • emotion regulation
  • communication & listening
  • tolerance
  • understanding diversity
  • equality
  • empathy
  • compromise
  • healthy conflict/how to disagree
  • how to apologise
  • gratitude
  • morals and values
Teen setting goals

Employability

Young people need to be well socialised to find employment. They need to have:

  • social and emotional wellbeing and intelligence
  • organisation skills
  • communication skills
  • personal responsibility
  • problem solving
  • resilience
  • goal setting
  • time management
  • decision making
  • adaptability
  • how to create a resume & apply for a job
  • how to ace an interview
  • ability to evaluate skills and identify weaknesses

We think we have covered most things – can you think of any others that we may have missed? Does your teen/young person know how to do any of these?

Get Fit for Homeless Youth – 30 day fitness challenge

PIF 30 Day Fitness Challenge

We have joined the fundraising efforts of the Property Industry Association (PIF) to fight youth homelessness with a 30 day fitness challenge which aims to raise $250,000 – will you support us?

Check out who of the Burdekin team has signed up for the PIF 30 Day Fitness Challenge, we would love it if you could support us! We have set a modest aim to raise $1,000, every single donation counts! And of course, we would like to overshoot the goal and contribute as much as possible to the overall goal.

About

PIF wish to raise $250,000 towards The Haven Project which includes the renovation of a house in Balgowlah into a new home for young people. You can read more about the project here: New Home in the Making and here: Haven House Balgowlah. We wanted to thank PIF so much for their efforts in getting this fundraiser off the ground for our project partners – SMLXL Projects, Bridge Housing and others, such an amazing community effort!

Burdekin are getting active in the name of team building, mental health, and physical health, but most importantly to Get Fit to For Homeless Youth.

#pif30daychallenge #getfitforhomelessyouth

Youth homelessness affects 44,000 young Australians, and each night, 1 in 3 young people are being turned away from supported accommodation services.

The Property Industry Foundation exists to solve this problem of youth homelessness. We bring together the property and construction industry to build homes for homeless youth through our Haven Project.

Every day for 30 days from 2 – 31 May, we are walking, running, cycling and everything in between to raise funds as we go – please support us!

Donate

Connecting the Dots

Join us for screenings on the Northern Beaches

Community Capital Foundation presents Connecting the Dots screenings and panel discussion events.

We have partnered with Community Capital Foundation and other local organisations for something very important to us – screenings of the documentary film Connecting the Dots by award-winning Canadian film director Noemi Weis, as well as post screening panel discussions.

Discussions will include mental health experts, local organisations and youth representatives to talk about how we can collectively improve youth mental health in 2022.

You can view screenings of Connecting the Dots on:

Watch the trailer

About Connecting the Dots

Connecting the Dots is the first feature documentary of its kind to offer a raw and inteimate look at youth mental health from a global youth perspective.


“The film gives a voice to our future leaders, who, through sharing their lived experience- articulate the problems and potential solutions. Community Capital Foundation will then work directly with Northern Sydney’s youth to identify ideas needing community support. In addition, we’re asking local individuals and businesses to contribute to our Youth Impact Fund for a giving program this year,” says the Foundation’s manager, Jessie Williams

Youth Mental Health Crisis

Late last year, self-harm and suicidal ideation were up 31 per cent for children and teenagers compared with 2020, according to NSW Government’s Health report.

With mental health charities doing it tough and rising rates of youth struggling, Community Capital Foundation want to shift the dial through a campaign to increase awareness, identify organisations making a difference and help raise the capital to contribute to our next grants program.

You can help promote Connecting the Dots

Hashtags and links to use – #RaiseYourHand, #ConnectingtheDots, #CCF, #mentalhealth #youthmentalhealth

Community Capital Foundation media release

Connect with Facebook and Instagram

About Community Capital Foundation

Community Capital Foundation is an initiative by local Northern Beaches organisation, Community Care Northern Beaches. We support our communities through grant-giving and community-building initiatives that positively impact our local backyard. Since 2019, we have donated $111,000 to programs eradicating Indigenous youth disadvantage, building male youth resilience and respect for themselves and others, and programs supporting victims of domestic violence, plus several others.

“When a flower doesn’t grow, you change the environment around it. As communities, we need to learn how to create safe and empowering spaces for young people to achieve their best mental health,” says Community Capital Foundation’s Youth Ambassador, Emily Unity.

To learn more, contact Jessie Williams.
Email: jessie@communitycapitalfoundation.com.au
Phone: +61 452 627 257



What our clients say – a snapshot.

Hear what our young people have to say

During the pandemic we undertook a client survey to find out how the young people in our care are doing – what is going well and what is going not so well – in our continuous strive to better meet their needs.

Data for the client survey was collected over a period of 3 months via an online survey platform. The survey team comprised of volunteers Amy, Bec and Caitlin, headed by Burdekin employee and Volunteer Manager Jill.

The opportunity to participate in the survey was offered to all clients in Burdekin’s housing programs, Out of Home Care and Youth Housing, and in both the Inner West and Northern Beaches regions.

The survey was conducted primarily during the difficult period of Sydney’s lengthy COVID-19 lockdown. This presented the opportunity to undertake a “pulse check” on the state of service delivery during this challenging time on top of the purpose of the survey to gather vital client feedback to inform future decision-making and get a clear understanding of how well we are doing as a service provider.

This is the survey – Shoutback, we asked, they answered.

October is Mental Health Month

There are strong links between mental illness and homelessness

Mental Health and Resilience go Hand in Hand

We compiled a list of tips for managing physical and mental health for times when we may need to restrict our movements or self-isolate. Tips like staying connected, keeping a routine, moving and exercising body and mind – whatever it takes to get through it.

Check out some of these tips:

Check out our multiple support programs and seek help before crisis hits.

In an emergency call: 000. Lifeline – 13 11 14. Kids Help Line (5–25 years) – 1800 55 1800.

Stress

One of the main contributors to mental illness is stress. It’s a good idea to know what triggers stress, what it does to us and how we can help prevent it:

Trauma

Gabor Mate, Hungarian-Canadian physician and author defines trauma as follows:

Trauma is the invisible force that shapes our lives. It shapes the way we live, the way we love and the way we make sense of the world. It is the root of our deepest wounds.

Gabor Mate

Our Programs

At Burdekin we offer therapeutic, holistic, evidence-based, trauma-informed care to our young people. We offer physical and emotional safety – above all – to our young people and our staff. We support young people so they can trust us. Our staff are fully trained to recognise the signs and symptoms of trauma and offer care that is sensitive to our young people’s racial, ethnic, and cultural background, and gender identity.

Healing

Bessel van der Kolk, in his book  The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, explores “the extreme disconnection from the body that so many people with histories of trauma and neglect experience” and the most fertile paths to recovery by drawing on his own work and a wealth of other research in three main areas of study: neuroscience, which deals with how mental processes function within the brain; developmental psychopathology, concerned with how painful experiences impact the development of mind and brain; and interpersonal neurobiology, which examines how our own behaviour affects the psychoemotional and neurobiological states of those close to us…. read more.

World Mental Health Day falls on October 10th, not so coincidentally World Homelessness Day falls on the same day.

At the National Youth Homelessness Conference in 2021, Prof. Brian Burdekin AO says:

The Covid 19 pandemic followed closely on the heels of widespread bush fires and floods. The latest evidence is
that these events have been extremely stressful – including for many young Australians – particularly our most
disadvantaged young people.

Prof. Brian Burdekin AO

He also quotes a recent interview with Prof. Pat McGorry:

At least one million young Australians a year are affected by serious mental illness” we know that many
thousands of those have schizophrenia – (expert evidence indicates approximately 10% of those young
people will take their own lives if they don’t get adequate care.)

Prof Pat McGorry

Read more here. And in the National Homelessness Conference 2019:

In the Mental Illness Report we concluded there were very strong links between homelessness and
its tendency to exacerbate difficulties suffered by mentally ill people –and between mental illness
and its tendency to increase the risk of homelessness. Clearly there was an inter-relationship there
which had to be addressed and in many ways which was not being addressed.

Prof. Brian Burdekin AO

Read more here.

We acknowledge the Aboriginal people of the Cadigal and Gayamaygal Clans. We acknowledge the Country on which we live, work, and gather as being Aboriginal land.

We acknowledge the lands, waterways and skies that are connected to Aboriginal people. We honour them and pay our deepest respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

We respect their rightful place within our communities, and we value their ancient cultural knowledge and practices.

Aboriginal Flag
Torres Straight Island Flag

We deeply respect that this will always be Aboriginal land and we will honour and follow the first peoples’ values in caring for the Country and for preserving their culture.

We deeply value that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the oldest living culture in the world and we will continue to work with their peoples and communities to ensure their cultures endure and remain strong.