Voice of the Child

Glastonbury Community Services is a trusted community partner delivering care and support services to children, young people and families in need to achieve their potential. Glastonbury’s vision is for all children, young people and families to be happy, healthy and heard.

Give Where You Live has enabled Glastonbury to enhance participation of children and young people in service provision in the Barwon region through funding $70,000 dollars for each of the two years of the Voice of the Child project. As part of the project a Voice of the Child Toolkit has been developed for service providers. The toolkit serves as a resource on how to engage children and young people in community service provision, as well as provides a summary of key bodies and organisations championing youth participation and an extensive list of literature for further reading.

One of the main components of the Voice of the Child project is the establishment of a Youth Advisory Group (YAG). The YAG consists of young people who are in care in the Barwon region. The group had its first meeting on Monday 24th of February with extraordinary results. The group provides a leadership opportunity to hear the collective voice of young people receiving services on key issues affecting them. Following the meeting the young people provided feedback that they were excited to make new friends in the group and to have a platform that allows them to voice their opinions and have a positive impact in the region, as well as help other young people in care in the future.

Download the Voice of the Child Toolkit