Youth Health Awareness

It is great to be here with you today for the launch of Youth Health Awareness Week. And what a wonderful theme "A Celebration of Youth". How could I not be here??

The symbol of Youth Health Awareness is this green ribbon. It stands for the new growth of youth and the purpose of the Week is about promoting youth issues.

This is something I am very supportive of. So often all we hear about youth are the negatives - certainly if you listen to the media anyway. But you and I know that this is simply not true.

There are issues for young people as there are for any generation and we need to be addressing these.

The major health issues of young people have been identified by the Ministry of Health as:

mental health problems, such as depression, personal problems, eating disorders and stress;
sexual health, including contraception, pregnancy, STDs and AIDS;
injuries, including those from sport, motor vehicle crashes and drunk driving, violence and sexual abuse and:
drug and alcohol problems.
These issues are the key ones that affect young people and their health. They paint a rather depressing picture. Yet young people are much more than this picture would lead us to believe.

Young people are creative and they challenge adult thinking about their behaviours and social development.

Young people are resilient. They have a tenacity that many older people could learn from.

Young people are optimistic in the face of life's challenges. They adapt readily to change.

It is these characteristics that we also need to bear in mind when developing health services for youth.

Throughout the country there are heaps of exciting health initiatives operating.

For me, the most exciting are those that actively involve young people.

Surveys of young people's views in Auckland, Christchurch, the Central RHA region and Waiheke Island found that young people want services especially for them, that are youth friendly, free, easy to access by public transport, and which provide as many sorts of help as possible from one site.

In response to this feedback, the concept of One Stop Shops has been developed as a key initiative in the delivery of health services.

"One Stop Shops" are seen as one way of making health services more accessible and 'user friendly' for youth.

They provide a range of health information and referral services. They recognise that the health of young people is not dependent on the availability of doctors and nurses, but also counsellors, educators, employment, budget, housing and legal advice.

A unique feature of all the One Stop Shop services that I think is spot on, is that young people are involved in the delivery of services as peer supporters, counsellors and educators. They support one another. In some centres youth are also involved at the board of trustees level.

By including the views of young people, we can help to ensure that youth services do actually address their needs, rather than what older people think young people want. It also encourages youth to build a sense of belonging and contributing to society in a meaningful way - they get to see that what they think and do does make a difference.

One of the reasons for having the Ministry of Youth Affairs is to make sure that as much as possible, Government is able to hear from youth. I'm sure it will come as no surprise to you but the people in Wellington don't know everything. And in my observation the policy makers on the Terrace have no idea what's going on in the real world of real teenagers. So we need to hear from you if we're going to get it right.

Tomorrow I will have been an MP for a year. It's been a wicked year too. I've discovered a whole different new Zealand. Some of it I don't like - but most of it is awesome. I love it.

The most amazing part of what I've seen is the people. Remarkable people committed to making this country a better place. And, I have to say, often the people making the most difference get the least acknowledgment.

So, I've seen and heard excellent things. It makes me feel proud to be a representative of the people. But most of all it makes me feel privileged to be a representative of youth. There are 700,000 people between 12 and 25, all with the potential to do anything and be the people they want to be.

For that to happen, the nation's adults have to learn to listen, be tolerant and value what it means to be young. When that happens - and I reckon it's starting to - we'll be going places.

Later this month the Ministry of Youth Affairs is hosting a gathering of providers of health services for young people including those involved in One Stop Shops around the country.

This forum is aimed at:

giving providers the opportunity to share information about their particular health initiatives;
linking providers with each other facilitating the sharing of information about initiatives that work (and some that don't) and
encouraging providers to learn from each other and from the young people with whom they work.
I think it's really important that everyone supports each other and shares information. I'm looking forward to it and before that there are the many activities planned for Youth Health Awareness Week around the country.

I want to wish you all the best and a big congratulations to Yani, the Christchurch City Youth Council, NZAAHD, and everybody involved in organising today. It's primo.

ENDS