Our Young People Matter

At Maburra Collective, we believe our young people are our future leaders, knowledge holders, and change-makers. Yet here in Queensland, we face some of the highest rates of youth crime in the nation. The Queensland Government has responded with major initiatives such as the Kickstarter Grants Program and Proven Initiatives, aiming to trial new approaches that reduce offending and strengthen community safety.

While these programs are important, lasting change must also come from community-led solutions, from the ground up, with young people and families at the centre. Our youth are too often spoken about rather than listened to. Their voices, their stories, and their lived experience must guide how services are designed and delivered.

Our Youth Matter is more than a statement, it is our commitment. Through our support, services, and programs, we will:

• Promote inclusion and belonging for young people who too often feel left out of systems that should support them.
   
• Create pathways to healthy relationships, helping break cycles of harm and violence.
   
• Stand alongside youth in the justice space, providing healing-centred alternatives to detention and punishment.
   
• Embed cultural healing and intergenerational strength, addressing the impacts of trauma and supporting resilience for future generations.
   

We know that when our young people are supported by culture, community, and opportunity, they thrive. When their voices shape the design of programs, we create responses that truly work. And when healing is embedded at the heart of services, we build safer, stronger, more connected communities.

Together, we must take proactive steps now, so that our young people are not defined by statistics, but by their strengths, their dreams, and the change they will bring.