Posted on 8th December 2020
Youth Solutions encourages young people and community to celebrate safely this summer
Tis the season to celebrate with your family and friends – and boy do we all deserve a celebration after the year we have had!
The Christmas and New Year season is on our doorstep, school and study commitments are wrapping up, COVID-19 restrictions are continuing to ease and its certainly time to have some fun, relax and enjoy the company of your family and friends.
So, with the celebration season in full swing, Macarthur and Wingecarribee youth charity, Youth Solutions, is honing the focus on helping young people to ensure their celebrations are safe and memorable for all the right reasons.
The Youth Solutions youth volunteers and team have collated a few of their top celebrating tips (and their benefits!) to share:
Remember to keep it COVID Safe. Keep your catch-ups to close friends and family and remember to maintain physical distancing, hand washing and hygiene practices (that way we can keep our catch-ups happening well into the new year!) Check out the NSW Government page for all the tips and updates: nsw.gov.au/covid-19.
Reduce your alcohol intake by sipping mocktails or non-alcoholic beverages in between (or instead of!) alcoholic drinks. It’s kinder to your head, liver and your wallet!
Make sure you and your friends have a safe way home; that way everyone is safe and ready to catch up again next weekend!
Stick with your friends when you are out. Not only does it keep you safer, but it saves you missing out on making fun memories with your friends.
Know what to do if an emergency happens – call Triple 000! Nothing is as important as your life or your friends’ lives.
Drinking alcohol? Skip the driving. No one wants to lose their licence, or worse! A safe way home with someone sober is always the way to go (say hello to Uber or hit up great friends and family). Bonus tip: Plan ahead so you don’t get stranded.
Under 18? Children and young people are most at risk from the harms of alcohol. So, skip the alcohol and take care of your brain and your future.
The drug and alcohol harm prevention service will use its social media to share the best safer celebrating tips, turning the clock back for a Throwback Campaign. The Throwback special will look at the best messages from its Safer Celebrations campaigns over the past decade, which have been delivered in partnership with Campbelltown Catholic Club.
“The short of it is that we want our young people to have a good time, safely connecting with their friends and family after a trying year,” Youth Solutions Chief Executive Officer Geraldine Dean said.
“What we are doing, and what we have done in partnership with our amazing friends at Campbelltown Catholic Club each summer for more than 10 years, is providing young people with some really practical things they can do to keep themselves and their mates safe while they are celebrating or drinking alcohol.”
Youth Solutions Safer Celebrations project leads Amanda Dillon and Emily Deans were excited to roll out this summer’s Throwback Campaign.
“We’ve both been involved with the Safer Celebrations project for a few years now and I think it’s fair to say that we really enjoy being able to help our young people celebrate safely each summer,” Mrs Dillon, Youth Solutions’ Community Relations & Communications Coordinator, said. “It just aligns well with what we do and what we are about; helping our young people to be healthy, safe and connected.”
“We also know that it’s a time of year where a lot of people will potentially drink alcohol or drink more alcohol than at other times as they catch up with family and friends,” Dr Deans, Youth Solutions’ Research & Design Coordinator, said. “It’s important to remember that alcohol and other drugs are never completely safe. But there are some things you can do to reduce your risk of harm and to increase your safety while celebrating – so that’s what we’re hoping to share with this Throwback Campaign.”
Keep an eye on Youth Solutions’ Facebook and Instagram for more safer celebrating tips this summer or head over to the Youth Solutions website, youthsolutions.com.au for further information about alcohol, drugs, support services and the organisation’s programs.
Youth Solutions sincerely thanks the Campbelltown Catholic Club, its Safer Celebrations campaign partner for over 12 years, for its ongoing support and focus of youth celebration safety.
