Isaac Hartley’s dad Shaun vows to create a youth support centre

A business owner grappling with the sudden death of his son says he does not want anybody else to go through what his family has endured this week.

The grieving father of a 17-year-old Ballina Isaac Hartley has vowed to create a space where young people can stay connected and safe.

Shaun Hartley said his family were still coming to terms with the loss of their son and brother, Isaac, whose death has not been deemed suspicious by police but is still being investigated by the coroner.

His Ballina family’s fruit shop has been manned by volunteers this week supporting them to stay open.

Mr Hartley said he had witnessed a community of young people trying to make sense of the tragedy, which was exemplified by tributes left at Banyan Hill.

He said he wanted to create a youth centre for Ballina.

“When I grew up we had the Police Citizen’s Youth Club, we played basketball, but these kids don’t have nothing and lockdown hasn’t helped either,” Mr Hartley said.

“I’m going to push to have something here for him, to remember him, this will always be Isaac’s spot.”

He said he would rally community support to get some type of community centre built for kids so they were off the streets.

“I’d like to see everybody involved, I think it should be government-funded and run by the community, and if they need someone to talk to, I’ m happy to be that person because these kids know what I am going through,” he said.

“I don’t want this to happen to anybody else.”

A memorial was erected by friends and family of 17-year-old Isaac Hartley at the top of Banyan Hill in Ballina. Picture: Javier Encalada

Mr Hartley said 50 or 60 teens had been gathering every evening at the makeshift memorial for his son.

“We live up here in Cumbalum, the kids used to hang around that fig tree, Isaac broke his arm once jumping out of that tree, this was their spot, a place where they could sit and talk to each other,” he said.

“The community has rallied around us as a family, they took care of the business, we have a month worth of meals at home, we have all this support, but the kids need a youth or grief counsellor to check on them.”

He said there needed to be help for the teens trying to process Isaac’s death.

“Some of these kids are as young as 14 and they have never gone through anything like this,” he said.

“The kids are not going to reach out because they don’t know how. These kids are just lost.”

A memorial was erected by friends and family of 17-year-old Isaac Hartley at the top of Banyan Hill in Ballina. Picture: Javier Encalada

Southern Cross University academic and mental health nurse at Headspace, Professor John Hurley, said parents struggled trying to help young people through grief.

“Our job as mature adults is very much to be a resource for them to do what they need to do,” he said.

“We need to regulate our own emotions so we are available to them at a community level and we need to be great empathy and great compassion.”

Professor Hurley, who is also the vice-president of the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses, said it was important for young people who were grieving or facing other issues to stay connected in any way possible.

“Young people connect via social media, phone, gaming,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter how they do that, it’s about being connected.

“There is nothing worse for a young person who is grieving than to feel they are alone.”