Children and Young People
At STTARS we employ specialist child and youth counsellor/advocates to deliver holistic services for children and young people.
Children and the young are not spared the human rights abuses that cause people to become refugees. They may experience these traumatic events as part of a family or on their own, and be forced to flee their homes with little understanding of the reasons why. At STTARS we employ specialist child and youth counsellor/advocates to deliver a holistic service, both onsite and outreach, in which they work closely with key people or groups that are important to their young clients such as family members, carers, schools, support workers, communities and youth services.
Given the great diversity of experiences amongst the children and young people we work with, there are various programs that aim to engage and offer support in a way that best suits the individual. In addition to individual counselling we run group programs (including school holiday activities) to connect with children and young people. We also run closed therapeutic groups that are tailored and targeted to specific needs, usually partnering with schools and/or other community organisations.
In partnership with school staff, our child and youth counsellors provide outreach services to schools for counselling and to run therapeutic groups with children and young people on an 'as needed' basis. Our counsellor/advocates gain valuable insights in the schools and are therefore able to ensure that the appropriate supports can be put in place within the school environment for students from refugee backgrounds.
