New initiative

Bold plan presents a set of challenges but advocate should be applauded for trying

No one living in the Far North could say they haven’t felt the impact youth crime is having on our region. It’s terrorised most parts of the region — if you haven’t been impacted it’s likely you know of someone who has.

So when a woman like youth advocate Perri Conti spends $577,000 on a house hoped to help find a solution to the issue, it’s impossible not to applaud her.

As reported in today’s Cairns Post, Ms Conti has literally put her money where her mouth is by purchasing the dilapidated boarding house with plans to transform the property into lowcost accommodation for young homeless people.

Ms Conti said she had taken out a bank loan to finance the acquisition.

She said she had been moved by the plight of young people that struggle day-to-day finding somewhere safe to spend the night.

Although many in our region are, she would have to be one of a few who are willing to do anything about it.

There’s no denying that she faces challenges and there are questions about how such accommodation would work.

But she has to be congratulated for trying.

Ms Conti said she had heard of horrible stories of young indigenous girls sleeping on the street constantly in fear of being raped.

“God knows there’s going to be all these kids that eventually get out of Cleveland (Youth Detention Centre) that we will try and get apprenticeships and jobs for,” she said.

“They all need a place like this, we can’t send them back to the cesspool because they end up working for nothing because in those households what’s yours is everybody’s.”

It’s easy to complain about youth crime.

The next, much harder step is to campaign for better outcomes.

But when someone is willing to do something about it, it shows the gravity of the situation we are facing in the Far North.

Ms Conti has registered the charity as Changing Young Lives, and hopes it will stop young children from couch surfing or living on the street.

We hope so too.