Article: COVID: YOUTH SERVICE FINDS NEW WAYS TO WORK WITH SURPRISING OUTCOMES

COVID: YOUTH SERVICE FINDS NEW WAYS TO WORK WITH SURPRISING OUTCOMES

The Youth Service found themselves navigating an ever changing front of COVID-19 restrictions impacting on their service delivery into remote biosecurity regions. After a week of planning and a deep breath, the Youth Service began to deliver a creative series of COVID safe programming into the NPY Lands.

The programs surprised everyone by finding a deep engagement with communities, families and youth that have not previously been involved with the program.

The new programming has seen families become very involved in supporting the delivery of activities in their homes and young people step up to the challenge of self-driving fun.

New COVID-19 safe programming has seen a more resilient program, reaching new communities, families and youth, including young people with disabilities.

Elements of the COVID programming will be continued into the future to support this engagement.

Competitions get crazy
The Youth Service created a dance and footy trick shot competition aimed at keeping youth active and driving their own activity in a safe way.

One of our Dance Competition entrants received over 56 thousand likes on his Tik Tok dance post!

Click here to see Football Trick Shot winners

Click here to see the Dance Competition winners

Activity packs in high demand

Activity packs were sent out to youth across the NPY Lands. Packs included recipes and food ingredients, art materials and hair colour, resembling some the programs that are usually run.

Due to an overwhelming response for more, the packs have continued to be sent out to NPY communities. Families not usually engaged with the Youth Service began to get involved to support their children with cooking and other activities provided. This element of engagement is what the Youth Service feels strongly about maintaining post COVID-19. The Youth programs are excited, not just to provide activities for youth but work with families to support youth activities.

Guys seek football fitness
Older youth were worried about losing their fitness for the football season. A football exercise program was translated into Pitjantjatjara, turned into a video and shared across the NPY Lands. The video was extremely well received and used.

Boarding school program

As COVID-19 began to transform how schools were conducting operations, safety plans for each boarder were devised between the Youth Boarding school program, families and schools. As boarders began to return back to community, the Boarding School Program working with agencies on the ground to find spaces for boarders to continue to learn remotely. Students were set up with spaces in community schools, art centres and offices. All students were supplied with computers and internet dongles by NPYWC and their schools.

Movie nights went virtual and viral
A Friday movie night is mainstay for many youth programs, bringing people together for an end of week treat. NPYWC Youth program wanted to keep this element of the program running. The first live stream on social media received nearly 2K views. The Youth Service then set up a partnership with ICTV to host the movie nights featuring old NPYWC footage and films from the archive.

In Kiwirrkurra, Youth Development Officers set up 5 projector screens in front of family homes to screen a movie night. Community members came out on their verandas to watch and share socially distanced time with each other.

Click below to watch some of our April live-stream movie nights:

Livestream 1

Livestream 2

General

COVID-19: From Job Upheaval to Opportunity

As COVID-19 restrictions began to take effect, NPYWC staff faced upheaval to their roles and regular service provision. Some staff were overrun navigating new systems and urgencies while some found they were not able to continue with usual tasks.

The Job Rotation Program was developed to address this dramatic shift of circumstance and as an opportunity to strengthen NPY Women’s Council. The organisation had an extraordinary

opportunity at this time to work more collaboratively than ever and share knowledge, skills and experience.

The program enables staff to request to work with other programs or in different roles and offered both staff and the organisation a number of benefits:

Opportunities to be exposed to different program areas
Fresh perspectives and different ways of thinking
Acceleration of professional development
Strengthening of succession planning
New challenges for staff and exposure to leadership roles

The Job Rotation Program is voluntary and based on a way of working called ‘Lattice Learning’.

For NPYWC it means that employees have an opportunity to see how other, sometimes similar or overlapping programs operate to bring back new knowledge to their positions to enhance their work.

Rotating staff have the opportunity to bring in fresh working styles and perspectives potentially increasing innovation, problem-solving and greater efficiency.

For staff the Job Rotation Program can provide a meaningful and “hands-on” learning opportunity. New skills, knowledge and challenges and the opportunity to step up into leadership roles. Managers can identify future leaders and provide them with training to step into roles of greater responsibility when the time comes.

The Rotation Program allows for migration of staff to areas that needed extra support during times of rapid change and challenge.

Child & Family Wellbeing

CARING THROUGH COVID-19

When sudden COVID-19 travel and biosecurity restrictions came into effect, many people found themselves negotiating a new set of challenges.

Expecting mothers from remote communities were required to quarantine in hotel rooms both before and after giving birth . Some community members visiting critically ill family members in hospital were left homeless as hostel accommodation became restricted.

The Child & Family Wellbeing Service worked to support vulnerable families find accommodation, make it through isolation with a newborn baby and navigate their way home safely.

As expectant mothers faced a month of isolation around delivery of their child, including several weeks in a hotel with a new born, the Child Nutrition team has been a friendly and consistent presence. They support women facing this challenging situation through phone check-ins, visits (with social distancing) and nutritious meals.

Women and children with hospital appointments also have to isolate to get back to their home communities, the Nutrition team is easing isolation stress with visits, tjanpi weaving materials, shopping support and advocacy to expedite travel.

The CFWS kitchen, usually busy with new mums cooking and learning more about nutrition, is used to cook up large batches of meals for families who are caught in difficult circumstances.

Although unable to travel to remote communities to visit regular clients, the Nutrition team works with community clinics and DCP to maintain regular contact with clients through teleconferencing and mobile phones to address growth faltering .

They have partnered with local Child Care centres sending families activity packs filled with recipes, food, seeds and games.

NPY Women's Council is grounded in, and continues to live and work on, the sovereign Lands of the Arrernte people, and the Aṉangu and Yarnangu people - the rightful custodians of the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Lands.

COVID: YOUTH SERVICE FINDS NEW WAYS TO WORK WITH SURPRISING OUTCOMES

Activity packs in high demand

Boarding school program

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