Ben Falcone-Mayo is a familiar face around Hume, especially in Craigieburn, where he has lived all his life.
He says he’s hauled himself up through years of counselling and study to qualify as a youth worker and mentor.
Now, work has dried up due to federal budget cuts, and his dream of an all-day youth centre for the area has fallen into a black hole.
“Youth are our future,” he said. “The more we don’t listen, the worse it will become. We definitely need young people to be more happy; that’s what we should be striving for.”
Mr Falcone-Mayo criticised the demise of the Australian Youth Affairs Council, the Foundation for Young Australians and the Youth Affairs Council Victoria.
“We’re looking at a hard future,” he said. “If you go around stripping programs supporting youth, you’re in a lot of trouble.”
He was scathing of the millions being poured into school chaplaincy programs with a religious agenda.
“I am a big advocate for counselling for young people when they need it, but for many young people this will be more confusing.”
Mr Falcone-Mayo, Hume council’s resident of the month in March, was recently added to the volunteer management committee of Hume Whittlesea Learning and Employment Network as a voice for young people.
He said he plans to be “a thorn in the side” for a while yet.
“We’re letting young people down,” he said.
“We’re all a bit frightened and we have the right to be.
‘‘There’s just so much going on; we’ve really dropped the bar here.”
In the meantime, Mr Falcone-Mayo’s new charity, ThinkStrong BeStrong, is up and running. Its ‘pillowcase project’ involves stuffing pillows with toothpaste, soap and deodorant for young people who are homeless or couch-surfing.
Of the more than 150 young people he has worked with during the past two years, Mr Falcone-Mayo says most had been couch-surfing, if not homeless.
But he found only 10 cases where the young person could not be reconciled with their family.
“I am a great believer that you should always work on family issues and try to broker an acknowledgement of how to get back home.”
For more details about Mr Falcone-Mayo’s charity, phone 0447 818 364 or visit www.facebook.com/ThinkStrongBeStrong
