Northern beaches: 50 kids at risk of going off the rails on waiting list for help, Xanax a problem

A charity says it has 50 troubled kids on its waiting list and not enough staff to help. One particular risk-taking trend is worrying them.

Around 50 northern beaches children who are deemed at risk of going off the rails are on a charity’s waiting list in need of professional help.

The children aged 11 to 18 have been referred by police, teachers or parents because of their risk-taking behaviour.

Most commonly, the children are involved in youth crime, disengaged at school, abusing drugs or alcohol, self-harming, affected by abusive relationships or at risk of homelessness.

Quite often they fall into multiple categories.

Vaping habits are a concern for youth workers. Stock image.

Tom Dent, from the charity StreetWork, said the rise in referrals was “hugely challenging”.

“We are helping around 30 kids a week, but we have so many more on the waiting list,” he said.

Mr Dent said in the last year the team has seen an increase in vaping and nicotine addiction and a couple of children have been caught using their parents’ credit cards to buy vaping products to sell to other young people.

He also said case workers have noticed a rise in Xanax use among peninsula children, with kids mixing the drug with alcohol, leading to some extreme risk-taking behaviour.

He said the one youth centre on the peninsula Youth Reach, at Brookvale, had shut because of funding issues following COVID.

He said while the PCYC was great, a lot of “street kids” don’t want to be associated with a police-led initiative, at least not at first.

Tom Dent from StreetWork helps get kids back on track. Picture: Troy Snook

Kids are mixing Xanax with alcohol.

Sonya Mears, general manager at StreetWork, said the charity mentors, “stands with” and empowers these “at risk children” to get them the help they need.

She said the organisation desperately needs more funds to employ enough case workers to help with demand.

“If we can get in there and help these children we have a good chance of turning things around,” Ms Mears said.

The charity runs KickStart, an early intervention and prevention program, which has a “mentor and goal setting approach”.

It finds 85 per cent of children have a positive outcome after going through the program.

As well as referrals, the charity has people on call 24/7 to advocate on behalf of a young person if they are being held at a police station and their parents are not willing to attend.

Police at the scene of an incident in Warriewood which saw a police officer allegedly injured by youths in June last year. Picture: Gordon McComiskie

The community-based charity workers hang out at popular teen haunts including Warringah Mall and skate parks where they build trust with young people.

“These kids may be in the stairwells at the mall,” Ms Mears said.

“Our guys know where to look.”

Ms Mears said they also hold barbecues at the skate parks to engage with young people.

The charity which also has teams in Mosman, North Shore, Ryde, Hornsby and Kurringai, said it had found the economic status of a family makes no difference to whether a child can go off the rails.

Earlier this year several incidents of youth violence and crime on the northern beaches were blamed on the rise of the “eshay culture” – a subculture defined by gangs of similarly dressed young people being antisocial and popularised on social media.

It sparked calls from the northern beaches community for more to be done.

Police have also warned about large groups of children acting aggressively towards officers.

Northern Beaches councillor Vincent De Luca.

Cr Vincent De Luca wrote to the council in May after a young girl was injured by broken glass at Village Park Mona Vale.

He said a mother had complained of a gang of 20 teens hiding in the bush, throwing “deodorant bombs” and littering the area.

The council in its response said that the park was “one of the most heavily vandalised sites in Council’s portfolio” and that cleaners visit daily “to remove any broken glass and litter as a result of vandalism”.

A Northern Beaches Council-owned bus shelter damaged by late night vandals on Forest Way at Belrose. Picture: Facebook

Cr De Luca said there continues to be issues around vandalism which costs ratepayers millions of dollars a year, as well as other anti-social behaviour.

He said charities such as StreetWork did excellent work and should be better funded by all levels of government.

Mr Dent said the northern beaches was shockingly void of youth facilities.

He said a futuristic youth centre was needed on the peninsula with a music studio, legal graffiti wall and youth gym, to engage those who associate with street life and culture, rather than beach culture.

He said there were a lot of great career pathways and opportunities for children who wanted to explore art, music and fashion, but there were few facilities offering it.

“Some voices are frustrated that these children are not using the beaches or the footy fields, like traditional Aussie kids,” he said.

“But we need to offer some alternatives.”