Ballarat Youth Services

01/09/2026

📢 This week, our Youth Ambassadors are taking over our channels to highlight the importance of healthy relationships and raise awareness about domestic and family violence.

😎Our Youth Ambassador team is made up of 15 people aged between 13 and 21 years old. We have been meeting for 2 hours every Tuesday since February, to learn about the impacts of domestic and family violence in our community and work on projects to support positive social change.

✅We started by researching the topic and have undertaken training in being an Active Bystander, knowing what Affirmative Consent is and Child Safeguarding. We visited the She Matters Mural with Women's Health Grampians back in April, we've heard about the work of Orange Door, CASA, WRISC and other important community stakeholders.

This week we are delivering the first of our projects, our communications campaign to raise awareness of the issue of family violence. Keep an eye on the Youth Services' link in the bio for more impactful projects from us including Financial Literacy workshops, Book Chats, a 16 Days event and more.

Disclaimer: This campaign has been designed by our Youth Ambassadors to spark discussion about relationship portrayals in popular culture. It offers a starting point for conversation and reflection, rather than a comprehensive representation of all relationships.

If you are experiencing family violence or are concerned about someone's safety:

➡️ 1800Respect 📞1800 737 732 – National sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling and support services, available 24/7.
➡️ Orange door 📞1800 219 819 – Free family violence and family wellbeing support, information, assessment and referral services.
➡️ Safe steps family violence centre 📞1800 015 188 – 24/7 support, safety planning and crisis accommodation assistance for people experiencing family violence.
➡️ ️ Headspace 📞03 5304 777 – Free, confidential and anonymous mental health support for young people and their family.

01/09/2026

📢 This week, our Youth Ambassadors are taking over our channels to highlight the importance of healthy relationships and raise awareness about domestic and family violence.

🚩Sometimes people don’t realise they are experiencing family or domestic violence. DV can happen in many ways, it isn't always physical. Domestic and family violence can look like financial, emotional, social or sexual abuse, neglect or stalking. Emotional abuse often occurs as part of coercive control, a pattern of behaviour aimed at gaining power over another person.

🚩Emotional abuse can start small and be hard to notice at first, but after a while it can make you feel really bad about yourself and lower your self-confidence. Emotional abuse is often explained away by the perpetrator with comments like 'You're so emotional/dramatic' or 'I never said that' or 'It was just a joke'.

Whatever it looks or feels like, domestic and family violence is never ok.

Disclaimer: This campaign has been designed by our Youth Ambassadors to spark discussion about relationship portrayals in popular culture. It offers a starting point for conversation and reflection, rather than a comprehensive representation of all relationships.

If you are experiencing family violence or are concerned about someone's safety:

➡️ 1800Respect 📞1800 737 732 – National sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling and support services, available 24/7.
➡️ Orange door 📞1800 219 819 – Free family violence and family wellbeing support, information, assessment and referral services.
➡️ Safe steps family violence centre 📞1800 015 188 – 24/7 support, safety planning and crisis accommodation assistance for people experiencing family violence.
➡️ ️ Headspace 📞03 5304 777 – Free, confidential and anonymous mental health support for young people and their family.

31/08/2026

📢 This week, our Youth Ambassadors are taking over our channels to highlight the importance of healthy relationships and raise awareness about domestic and family violence.

📚We were all there for The Summer I Turned Pretty. Whether you read the books or poured over the TV Series, we know you've had the 'team Conrad V's team Jeremiah' discussion with your besties.

We think our reel says it all, all three characters are full of red flags, so why did we put so much time into wondering which one Belly would choose? This kind of drama does NOT translate to real life, there's no way we would be coaching our actual friends on which one to choose. We would be telling them to get the heck out of there. Or would we?

🚩The problem with red flag drama in literature and popular culture is that we start to think maybe those behaviours ARE ok, that maybe that is what to expect from a romantic relationship. We start to normalise the behaviours.

GIRLLLLL we are here to remind you that no one should be treating you like Jeremiah, Conrad or Belly. They are not healthy relationships and we need to stop romanticising them. If you think about your favourite books, movies or TV shows, are there red flag behaviours to be aware of? Don't even get us started on 'Voicemails for Isabelle' 🙄!

Disclaimer: This campaign has been designed by our Youth Ambassadors to spark discussion about relationship portrayals in popular culture. It offers a starting point for conversation and reflection, rather than a comprehensive representation of all relationships.

If this post has affected your wellbeing in any way, please seek support from the following services:

➡️ 1800Respect 📞1800 737 732 – National sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling and support services, available 24/7.

31/08/2026

📢 This week, our Youth Ambassadors are taking over our channels to highlight the importance of healthy relationships and raise awareness about domestic and family violence.

Family violence is one of the most urgent social challenges in the Ballarat region, with local incident rates 51 per cent higher than the state average. In Ballarat, police attend approximately six incidents of gender-based violence every day, with children present at 45 per cent of incidents.

It's for these reasons the City of Ballarat's youth volunteers, the Youth Ambassadors, chose to make family violence the focus of our 2026 project.

As part of our efforts to reduce the impact of domestic and family violence for young people in Ballarat, we are taking over Youth Services' socials this week. Keep watching as we post to educate young people on red and green flag behaviours to pay attention to, where to get help and how to support others experiencing DV.

Thanks to the Ballarat Foundation for keeping the conversation going with stats listed in our post.

Disclaimer: This campaign has been designed by our Youth Ambassadors to spark discussion about relationship portrayals in popular culture. It offers a starting point for conversation and reflection, rather than a comprehensive representation of all relationships.

If this post has affected your wellbeing in any way, please seek support from the following services:

➡️ 1800Respect 📞1800 737 732 – National sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling and support services, available 24/7.

➡️ Orange door 📞1800 219 819 – Free family violence and family wellbeing support, information, assessment and referral services.

➡️ Safe steps family violence centre 📞1800 015 188 – 24/7 support, safety planning and crisis accommodation assistance for people experiencing family violence.

➡️ ️ Headspace 📞03 5304 777 – Free, confidential and anonymous mental health support for young people and their family.

29/08/2026

👩🏻‍🎨Ready to find your art style, experiment with new creative techniques and connect with fellow young artists?

🎨Join, local youth artist, Courtney for a three-part art workshop series, supporting people aged 12-25 years to explore and develop your artistic styles and have fun with an art fight!

Come along to one workshop or enjoy all three, there's no pressure! The workshops will be supported by the TBH Studios team, helping you find your creative style and sharing industry tips on how to make art a career. Learn how to curate your own solo exhibition, how to monetise your artworks and explore creative opportunities around Ballarat.

🖼Art workshop 1: From Scribbles to Style
Discover your artistic footprint, play around with different styles and find your unique art identity. Hear from Courtney on how she discovered her style of art, and how pop culture influenced it.
Wed 16 Sept 5pm to 6.30pm, Meeting room 4 at the Ballarat Library

✏Art workshop 2: Choose your Medium
This is your chance to experiment with different art forms and find what speaks to you. Whether you're using paints, biro pens, oil pastels, scrap booking etc. there is always a medium that will influence your personal style of work. Courtney will walk you through her personal favourite mediums and help you experiment with what works for you.
Wed 23 Sept 2pm to 4pm, TBH Studios

👨🏾‍🎨Art workshop 3: Art fight!
Ready, set, fight! You've created a character, now it's time to put them to the test. Battle it out on team Nightmares or team Dreams.
Wed 30 Sept 2pm to 4pm, TBH Studios

Book your spot via our Linktree https://linktr.ee/BallaratYouthServices

27/08/2026

Wear It Purple Day was created to ensure every LGBTQIA+ young person knows they are seen, supported and never alone. This year's Wear It Purple Day theme is Colours of Courage.

The theme celebrates the many different forms of courage shown by LGBTQIA+ young people, allies and communities every day.

This courage can look like speaking up, standing out and creating change; but could also be quieter forms of bravery like living authentically, coming out, asking for support, standing beside someone, or choosing pride and hope in spaces where being yourself does not always feel easy.

How you can mark the day:
💜Wear purple!
💜Share information about inclusion
💜Attend an event
💜Support your mates and the community

27/08/2026

Have your say on the final draft of Ballarat’s Youth Strategy 2027-2030.

Between March and May this year, almost 1000 young people and the broader community gave their voices to Ballarat’s Youth Strategy. The key themes raised by young people were:

• Mental health and access to support services
• Cost of living pressures, transport and access to programs
• More volunteering opportunities for young people
• The need for safe 'third spaces' outside of home and school where young people can connect, feel welcome and spend time without judgement.

The Draft Youth Strategy has now been developed, and we are seeking further feedback to ensure it reflects the needs and priorities of young people over the next four years.

We invite you to help shape the final Ballarat youth Strategy 2027-2030 by reviewing the draft and completing the survey on MySay by 30 Sept. https://mysay.ballarat.vic.gov.au/youth-strategy

25/08/2026

PopCon is back!!! Check out this awesome photo with some of our incredible Sonika volunteers. Hope to see you there!

🎮 PopCon Ballarat returns this September!

Superheroes, wizards, gamers, anime fans, book lovers and pop culture enthusiasts are invited to gather for the return of PopCon Ballarat on Sunday 27 September.

Organised by Sonika, Ballarat’s youth-led Amplify Committee, with support from the City of Ballarat Youth Services team, PopCon has grown into one of Ballarat’s most vibrant and anticipated community events.

Taking over Ballarat Library and Civic Hall from 11am to 4pm, the event will feature more than 50 stalls, free activities, gaming, art, local creators, authors, collectibles and hands-on activities for all ages.

This year also sees the return of favourites like Good Games Ballarat tabletop gaming and the popular Cosplay Competition, alongside a new partnership with local live action role play group Imagined Realms Incorporated, bringing immersive fantasy experiences to the day.

The event will also feature a dedicated Chill Space, providing a quiet and supportive environment for attendees who need a break from the excitement.

📍 Ballarat Library and Civic Hall
📅 Sunday 27 September
🕚 11am to 4pm
💛 Free family-friendly event

📖 Learn more and register for the Cosplay Competition via the City of Ballarat website: https://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/community/youth-services/popcon

25/08/2026

PopCon’s Cosplay Competition is back again!

Dress up as a character or element from pop culture, including comics, books, movies, TV, video games or anime/manga.

The PopCon Cosplay Competition is low-stress and fun for cosplayers of all ages and experience levels – especially for beginners wanting to build their confidence! We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

If you'd like to participate in something even more low-stress - we have our Cosplay Parade as well, where you can simply show the audience your costume without any judging.

Want more info? Head to the PopCon Linktree! https://linktr.ee/popcon2026

24/08/2026

On Sunday the Youth Services team headed down to the Redan Wetlands to attend a cleanup event spearheaded by the Eco-Aura Restorers!

This group of young people, alongside local Clancy Lester - Bee Man 🐝 and ABC Takeover, are passionate about our local environment and hosted the event to clean up along the Yarrowee River.

After a few hours of rubbish collection, the group headed up to Vickers Street Community Hub, where we got to hear three different youth bands perform, and enjoy a sausage sizzle hosted by the local Men’s Shed.

It was an awesome day, and great to see so many people come along to support youth-led events!