On Wednesday 13th March the CAB launched two exciting new CAB youth-focused projects. One is the new CAB Youth Tool Kete website which contains information about legal rights and responsibilities and ways forward, and covers key issues raised by CAB’s youth clients. The other initiative is the report ‘Youth Engagement with Citizens Advice Bureau: A CAB Spotlight Report on the Issues Facing Young People in Aotearoa’ – an analysis of one year of enquiries to CAB from clients aged under 25 years.

CAB staff and whānau, including rangatahi, were joined at the launch event at Stillwaters Community building in Te Whanganui-a-tara (Wellington) by rangatahi, representatives from Mana Mokopuna - Children and Young People's Commission NZ, and VUWSA - Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association.

The launch took place as part of CAB’s Youth Week which runs from Mon 11 to Sun 17 March. Youth was chosen as this year’s focus for CAB’s annual awareness campaign to help more young people know about the CAB - that it’s a safe place to go when they have a question or need some advice, and it’s also a great place for young people to volunteer and help the community.

The new website for young people contains information about many of the key issues for youth embarking on those ‘firsts’ in adult life – starting tertiary study, getting a job, going flatting, buying a car, getting ID and more. The site is for helping young people know their rights and responsibilities, and for linking them to the CAB service when they need help from a real person. The CAB Youth website is at https://youth.cab.org.nz/.

Anika Green, CABNZ’s Youth Engagement Advisor says, “It was great to see fellow rangatahi at the launch using our new youth website and finding answers to their questions. We are so pleased to have the site go live because we know it will be a valuable, go-to online information resource for young people all around Aotearoa.”

The CAB youth engagement report is based on the enquiries young people are bringing to the CAB. In the past year, the CAB helped around 5,000 people under the age of 25 with information, advice and support. The report reveals the most common issues for which young people are seeking the CAB’s help. It shows some of the key problems and obstacles youth are facing ‘out in the world’. The report can be accessed from https://www.cab.org.nz/what-we-do/social-justice/cab-spotlight-reports.

Andy Jamison, Rights and Advocacy Manager at Mana Mokopuna – Children and Young People’s Commission, says “The CAB’s youth engagement report shines a light on key areas where the rights and wellbeing of mokopuna need to be better protected.”

“The report contains very valuable insights into the lives and experiences of rangatahi and shows us where more mahi is needed to support all young people in Aotearoa to feel safe, respected, and valued – whether as employees, tenants and flatmates, students, and in all aspects of their lives and in their communities”, says Ms Jamison.

“I hope it is widely read and its recommendations taken into consideration so we can continue to work together to make Aotearoa a place where all mokopuna can live their best lives,” she says.

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