reBriefed this article originally appeared in our June 2021 edition
Time to Try a “Nutha Way”
The Voice of Indigenous Young People By The Nutha Way Team A joint initiative of the Law Society of WA, Millennium Kids and Media on Mars
Nutha Way is an Indigenous youth leadership initiative of the Law Society of Western Australia focused on building better relationships between young people, their communities, the justice system, local police and stakeholders. In partnership with Millennium Kids Inc. and Media on Mars, Nutha Way engages with young people in ways meaningful and relevant to them and garners their input to identify issues faced by them in their community. An important feature of Nutha Way is the 25+ year commitment and the ‘skills for life’ approach that aims to build capacity and empower youth led initiatives.
youth and supporting them to pitch their ideas for solutions to the issues identified. This is critical if we are to help change outcomes for young Indigenous people and their communities. This approach also helps Indigenous youth build confidence, find and share their voice, develop community bonds and form partnerships to facilitate implementing solutions.
The Law Society, Millennium Kids Inc. and Media on Mars believe in championing the voices of Indigenous
An example of what building community bonds and partnerships looks like is Nutha Way in Coolgardie. Young
JUSTICE
|
Indigenous people in Coolgardie identified that they need somewhere to go when they need a break. The community realised that the empty house next to the police station would be an ideal location for this and could also function as a place to build a positive, culturally appropriate youth program. Over the last year, the Nutha Way team with the local youth, Elders and the Coolgardie Police have been working with us to secure that house for the Nutha Way team and the local community to use as the Nutha Way Youth Hub. This initiative has received a WA Police Community Grant to run an ‘On Country’ planning workshop with the young people and the local Police to co-design how the Nutha Youth Hub will work.
INCLUSION
|
COMMUNITY
13
