In September 2020 Mohita Kapoor, the NSW State Coordinator for the CREATE Foundation was invited to speak at our Therapeutic Specialist forum for those working within the Intensive Therapeutic Care system. Therapeutic Specialists were curious to learn more about the role of CREATE in supporting young people in therapeutic residential care and had some follow-up questions for Mohita. Here are the answers to these questions.

What is the best way to get a young person involved with Create Foundation?

Young people, carers, caseworker or other professionals can register the young person directly on our website for different programs, such as Club Create, or they can contact the NSW CREATE team on:

Phone: (02) 9267 0977
Email: nsw@create.org.au

What support does Create offer young people who want to become involved?

We have a range of programs that we offer to support young people who want to become engaged with CREATE Foundation. These include:

• Youth Advisory Groups: Youth Advisory Groups are forums for children and young people aged 10 to 25 to meet regularly, usually at a fun activity, to discuss issues they are facing within the care system.
• Speak Up: This is a three-level training program for young people aged 14 to 25 who want to become a CREATE Young Consultant. 
• Connection events:  these are held for all of the OOHC community
• Create Your Future: is a series of workshops specifically designed to support young people who are on their journey from care to independence. It aims to guide young people to acquire life skills which they have stated are necessary to have a successful start in adult life.
• Go Your Own Way: This website is packed with info on support services and general life stuff to assist young people when they leave and transition from care.
• Consultations: We also regularly have consultations with young people in care to inform our advocacy efforts.

You can read more about these programs on our website here: https://create.org.au/what-we-do/programs-and-services/

We also offer Caseworker Training for caseworkers and social workers so they can better understand the needs of young people in care. It also helps them engage in a positive and constructive way in case planning and case support.

Are there Create services in rural NSW?

NSW CREATE services all of NSW. However, due to 2/3rds of our budget cut, travelling to regional and rural NSW is less feasible than it was. However in saying that, we have been successfully been able to connect with children and young people in these regions via Zoom.