Australia’s beautiful winter sun shone for the 23 young people on July’s ‘Welcome Ride’, a bi-annual event that’s been running in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie since 2016. The Welcome Ride is designed to support young people from refugee or migrant backgrounds who are newly arrived in the Newcastle area. It’s a fun, pressure-free way to connect with the community and make new friends.
This Welcome Ride began with a trip to Ninja Parc indoor obstacle course, followed by lunch and volleyball on the beach and a stroll to Fort Scratchely. There was a lot of laughter and chatter among the young people, who have come from Afghanistan, Tibet, Phillipines, Syria and Democratic Republic of the Congo, to begin their new lives in Australia.
The event is led by Multicultural Neighbourhood Centre and supported by a number of local agencies, including Wesley Young Healthy Minds, our service that focuses on health and wellbeing in young people.
“We’ve been involved in, and supporting, the Welcome Ride since 2017,” says Kaia Ireson, Team Leader Child, Youth and Family Services. “It’s such a fantastic way for young people who have only very recently arrived in Newcastle to meet new friends and start to build the supports they need as they begin their new lives as part of our wonderful community.”
The Welcome Ride is one of many projects the Wesley Young Healthy Minds Service is involved in as part of their work supporting young people who have arrived in Australia as refugees or as humanitarian entrants, and their families. The team works to build wellbeing through skills development and connection, tailoring their approach to each individual young person to give them the best chance to feel good and flourish in their lives.
The Welcome Ride is a perfect opportunity to show these young people the power of connection as they explore some of the activities now local to them.
