Gympie mum petitions state government for PCYC to fix youth crime woes

A Gympie mum is petitioning the state government with a solution aiming to put an end to the region’s youth being left with ‘nothing to do’.

A petition calling for the construction of a PCYC in the Gympie region has attracted more than 400 signatures.

Complaints Gympie’s youth have “nothing to do” are not uncommon among the region’s residents, Kristie Harrison says.

Now the mum of two is pushing for a “forward thinking” solution to the problem.

Miss Harrison is calling on the state government to build the region’s first PCYC, which may help put a dent in rising concerns about youth crime.

The petition, which has attracted more than 400 signatures in the week since it was launched, is pushing for a centre to serve a as a “hub for community engagement” that will “help steer young people away from negative influences such as crime and substance abuse”.

On Thursday, Miss Harrison said concerns were frequently raised about crime and violent behaviour at the Gympie skate park near Nelson Reserve.

Gympie mum Kristie Harrison is calling on the state government to have a PCYC built in the region.

The park was a popular, but unsupervised, place for the region’s youth.

Miss Harrison said the park needed “a police bat across the way” but a PCYC would offer another outlet for not only Gympie’s youth but their parents too.

“It helps so many different areas of society,” she said.

“We all complain about the kids having nothing to do.

“We want kids to … find a safe way to work through their problems.”

She said opening a PCYC in the region would allow for a “little bit of forward thinking” when it came to addressing these “recurring” problems too.

Miss Harrison said it was something she felt may have made her own life different had she had access to one growing up.

Miss Harrison said official statistics were scarce as to youth crime rates within the region, but “you do see a lot of kids walking around the streets looking lost”.

She was eager to help find a way to support them and it was “really sad” seeing them getting into trouble.

In April, new figures revealed the number of youth offenders across the state increased 5.2 per cent to 11,191 offenders.

Originally published as Gympie mum petitions state government for PCYC to fix youth crime woes