Alice Springs CBD youth hub on Railway Tce to cease 24-hour operations these school holidays

The Alice Springs youth hub on Railway Terrace will cease 24-hour operations from these school holidays.

THE 24-hour operation of the Alice Springs youth hub, which has long been a thorn in the sides of residents on Railway Tce, will cease these school holidays.

Instead, the CBD youth hub will operate from midday until 10pm. These hours will be observed for its Friday-Sunday operations as well.

After 10pm, young people will be dropped off to a “safe place” to sleep for the night, whether it be their home or a relative’s home.

If home is not a safe place, youth engagement officers and patrolmen will work with the young people to find an appropriate place.

It comes as the NT government races to enact recommendations from a review that found the facility was encouraging youths to remain in the CBD, rather than its aim, which was to “move young people away from the CBD”.

Crime on Railway Tce doubled in the nine months since the youth hub was opened in the Alice Springs CBD last November.

The Alice Springs youth hub on Railway Terrace.

Territory Families Minister Kate Worden said the services offered to young people at the hub remained an important way to help them over the long-term.

“We know that engaging young people in constructive activities, reconnecting them to education, training, counselling and other services and encouraging them to make better life-choices are strategies that are effective in the long term,” she said.

“We will continue to consult with the non-government organisations, partner government organisations, key stakeholders and the Alice Springs community to determine a long-term model for the delivery of youth outreach and engagement services and activities that best suit the needs of young people and the community.”

Ms Worden said the operation of the hub presented a “unique opportunity” to collaborate with key stakeholders in supporting young people.

“The hub provides a unique opportunity for Territory Families, Housing and Communities to collaborate with NT Police other Northern Territory government agencies, community groups and youth support service providers to collaborate on youth programs, including providing valuable information to the Department of Education’s school re-engagement teams.”

The Territory government has committed to changing course for the summer holidays and is continuing to work with Tangentyere Council to progress a new model for the delivery of a youth service in town camps and other possible locations.

The report, released publicly in June, concluded the non-government community sector already operating in the space were better placed to run drop-in centres than Territory Families.

The Gap and Brown Street youth centres will continue to operate.

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