ALWAYS available and never judgmental, youth outreach worker Peter Schwarz tirelessly helps vulnerable and at-risk young people by offering guidance, practical support or a shoulder to cry on – by being someone responsible they can relate to.

“Every day is different. It could be encouraging someone to stay in education, helping a young mum, finding someone a bed for the night or helping to fill in a form.

“I’ll help anyone who needs support.”

Peter supports homeless and at-risk young people in Canberra, and with a 24/7 open-door policy for 12-25-year-olds, he says it’s all about building rapport and gaining their trust.

“If anyone needs to call me, they can,” he says. “I’m always available, and sometimes it’s enough for people just to know that. They do respect my time and I don’t often get calls on the weekend.

“It’s not that big a commitment, in all honesty.”

The YouthCARE Canberra program, managed by Communities@Work, provides social services where groups of young people congregate, on the premise that they’re reluctant to seek help from traditional service providers.

“I go to them – it’s about me being in their environment, where they feel comfortable,” he says. “I ask them what they need and take a proactive approach to helping them.

“Young people in Canberra aren’t generally on the streets, they tend to group together to support each other, but sometimes being on the street is safer – you never get a roof over your head for free and exploitation does happen.

“Homeless young people are so vulnerable, with so much ground to make up. If the only safe place they can find is where someone offers them drugs, they’re going to take them.

“I’m never judgemental about anyone’s situation. If they’re drug-affected, they still need help.

“I always work on what they see as important, not what I see as important. It’s about accepting them as they are and working with that.”

Having been a youth worker for 15 years, and a real estate agent before that, Peter says that in his experience young people are pretty resilient.

“I see myself as a responsible adult in their lives, playing a minor part. I can offer guidance, but they make their own decisions, as young people do!

“Sometimes I can help them and other times I have to pick up the pieces. They’ve got to learn from their mistakes. But they get through it.”

Peter says he’s driven by a desire to help people, particularly the ones who are the hardest to help.

“The bigger the challenge, the more I want to meet it,” he says. “In winter, all I can do sometimes is give someone a swag for the night and say I’ll see them in the morning – but it’s heartbreaking.

“I do enjoy the work; it’s the most rewarding thing I’ve done and probably the hardest. I want to enable them to self-empowerment; to a stage where they don’t need services.

“Normality is the aim. I don’t meet many people who want to stay down, they usually want to better themselves.

“I’m working towards not being needed, but the goalposts are always moving.”

Contact Peter Schwarz on 0417 554641 or email peter.schwarz@galilee.org.au