About Us
The Tom Price Youth Support Association Incorporated (TPYSA) is a community not for profit organisation that delivers services from two locations, the Tom Price Youth Centre and the Paraburdoo Youth Centre. The TPYSA operates at the coal face of community services locally, is client focused and holistic in its service delivery and actively seeks to increase opportunities for young people and the broader community.
The TPYSA continues to provide a multitude of quality services to the local communities of Tom Price, Paraburdoo, Wakathuni and Bellary Springs communities. The core focus of the TPYSA is recognising the problems of people living in a remote region, and the disadvantages commonly experienced in an isolated community. In this capacity the TPYSA’s service delivery is responsive and it is this value that underpins a quality, holistic and client focused organisation that provides support to both young people and members of the broader community.
Our services focus on prevention, intervention and postvention assistance, as well as an ongoing focus on relapse prevention which is an essential component for individuals living in a remote community. The TPYSA provides clients with an integrated and long-term network of support which reduces risk and increases protective factors necessary for individual and community well-being.
It can be difficult to define the achievements of the TPYSA as it is hard to quantify the impact we have on the people who use our services. We celebrate our Thirtieth Anniversary in 2017, which is a major achievement and a testament to the commitment and impact that the TPYSA has had on the many people who have used the services over the years. Over this time, we have constantly filled a niche in the community and have ensured client representation and advocacy which has impacted social change. We have played our part, and will continue to do so in the future.
Our Objectives
The TPYSA was originally established to deliver support services to a youth based target group. However, over its operational history, the TPYSA has provided services to a much broader clientele due to a number of factors. These include long term relationships with indigenous families who are traditional land owners specifically connected to this area, an aging youth target group who continue to use the more intensive services outside of youth drop in, a reputation for diverse service delivery and a response by the TPYSA to community/client demand regardless of age.
The TPYSA’s existing objectives are restated below, but for the purposes of this report, where the terms YOUTH and YOUNG PEOPLE are used in our stated objectives, this can include the delivery of services to all members of the community.
The TPYSA tries to recognise the problems of young people living in a remote region, and the disadvantages commonly experienced in an isolated community. The Association aims:
- To provide all young people with a safe, alcohol and drug free place to meet and interact;
- To provide young people with access to resources and facilities and initiate and develop activities and programs appropriate to their age and needs, which enhance and develop their life skills;
- To provide individual support, referral and counselling to young people, and their families, when they require assistance;
- Provide young people with comfortable and confidential access to information on personal and broader issues that affect them in their lives and the community;
- Provide young people with the profile and opportunity to be recognised as equitable and equal members of the community who offer a valuable and capable contribution; and
- To provide individual support, referral and counselling to other members of the community young people, and their families, when they require assistance.