Wyndham City Council Youth Survey Report 2024 PDF

Youth Survey 2024 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT REPORT May 2024 Youth Survey 2024 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT REPORT 2 PROJECT BACKGROUND: The biannual Youth Survey is designed for young people aged 12-25 who live, study, play, work or socialise in Wyndham. Young people are encouraged to participate and contribute feedback. The feedback captured provides council with important data about the current needs of Wyndham’s young people, guiding the development of future Youth Services programs, activities, and services. The survey collects information such as demographics, general interests, issues of importance such safety, mental health and where to go for help. METHODOLOGY: The below table outlines the various methods and techniques used to engage with the community. Community engagement activities / tools Method / technique Stakeholders engaged 5,624 page views Project page on The Loop 2,150 total visitors to the page Online Survey 1,037 contributions Pop up engagement 2 pop up sessions (Eagle Stadium and Aqua Pulse) sessions Communications / marketing activities Method / technique Stakeholders engaged Reach: 43,549 Online promotion (Facebook - Ad) Engagement: 310 Click through to website: 1,163 Reactions: 102 Distributed to all Wyndham schools, libraries and Community Centres. Print Material Online Promotion (school platforms 438 clicks via school platform eg. Seqta, Compass) Youth Survey 2024 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT REPORT 3 SUMMMARY OF FEEDBACK: We Asked You Said We did About Young Peoples work/ 64 % were studying. A report has been developed and is studying/ volunteering needs and attached to this document. influences/ barriers 12% are studying and working. Presentations of the Report will be 5.9% are looking for volunteer presented to key stakeholders: opportunities. -Wyndham Workers with Young People Network 17% said their Mental Health - Wyndham Student Representative influences their ability to work/ Committee study. -Internal Council departments - Youth organisations and schools 14% said transport influences their within Wyndham ability to work/ study What issues and Concerns are most 40% said ‘Crimes against people and important to Young People property’ was their greatest issue, closely followed by ‘Community safety’ 39%, and ‘Drugs and alcohol’ 36% 20% said when they have a concern then they would go to a friend. 20% said when they have a concern then they would go to a parent. About Young Peoples Mental Health 85% rated their mental health a 3 and Wellbeing out 5 stars or higher in the last 12 months. 21% said Intrapersonal factors improve their mental health. Positivity, behaviour, Manage time, sleep, hobby. 20% said Interpersonal factors improve their mental health. Socialising, friends, communicating. 175 said Recreational pursuits improve their mantal health. Physical activity, Outdoor time, activities, gaming Young people about their That there has been an increase in experiences with bullying Young People who have experienced Youth Survey 2024 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT REPORT 4 bullying compared to past surveys in 2021 and 2022. 31% have experienced bullying. 54% of Young People that have been bullied said it happened at school. 29% of Young People that have been bulled said it happened online. 20% of Young People who have been bullied say ‘distracting yourself with other things’ assists with dealing with bullying. 19.5% of Young People who have been bullied say ‘Walking away from the situation’ assists with dealing with bullying. 20% of Young People turn to their friends when in need. 20% of Young People turn to a parent when in need. Young People about their use of 15% do not use social media. social media The most popular platforms that Young People use are Instagram, Snapchat and Tik Tok. 68% said they use multiple social media platforms 20% have multiple accounts. What young people thought of their 70% of Young People feel safe in Neighbourhood and Safety their neighbourhood. 10% of Young People said they did not feel safe in their neighbourhood. 28% of Young people said ‘Less crimes against people and property’ would make them feel safe. 20% said they would feel safer if there was an increased Police presence. Youth Survey 2024 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT REPORT 5 NEXT STEPS: Council will continue to survey Young People via annual Youth Forums and Surveys. Council will continue to share the changing needs of young people with stakeholders who work with Young People in Wyndham. STAGES OF THE PROJECT Feb- Apr Community Engagement (including Pop Up sessions) 2024 Report Finalised July 2024 Presentation of Report to Stakeholders August 2024 onwards HOW CAN PARTICIPANTS STAY INVOLVED/INFORMED? Participants can stay informed by visiting the Loop page and selecting to “Follow” the project. Updates will be posted on The Loop and the project timeline will be updated to reflect project status. June 2024 Youth Survey 2024 Wyndham City 0 Executive Summary Key Demographics More than half of respondents identified as male, 55%, whilst females comprised 40%, and 7% identified as non-binary, and 2% preferred not to answer. More than half of respondents, 55%, identified their sexual preference as heterosexual, 5% bisexual, and 2% pansexual, 14% preferred not to say. A total of 3.4% (29) respondents identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders. For the 47% of people who were born overseas, the top 3 countries of birth were India, New Zealand, and Philippines. 54% of respondents speak a language other than English, the top 3 languages were Hindi, Punjabi and Telegu. While there was usage across all social media platforms, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok were the most prevalent platforms. Work and study Overall, 852 (88%) of respondents live in Wyndham. The majority of total respondents were studying (56%) 8% of total respondents were not working or volunteering or looking to do so and 11% were in paid work. The main impact on study and work were issues relating to mental health and wellbeing (17%). Important issues and concerns The issues of greatest importance to young people are Crimes against people and property (40%) followed by Community safety (39%), and Drugs and alcohol (36%) The topic that caused the most amount of concern was stress (47%) followed by School (42%). The topic that caused the least amount of concern was LGBTIQ issues (76%) followed by Infectious Diseases (70%). If young people had a concern, they would most likely go to a friend (20%) followed by a parent (20%) Mental Health and wellbeing Out of a score of 1-5, most young people rated their mental health at three or above (85%) A substantial number of responses to the question about what would improve mental health, were intrapersonal (21%), interpersonal (20%) and recreational (17%) A frequently emergent theme was being able to access support services (16%) (location and cost) and having a consistent programme of treatment and support around them when needed. Respondents felt that access and improvements to environment and community (15%) was essential for long-term wellbeing. Specifically: Access to outdoor infrastructure and greenspaces, Feeling safe within their community, having spaces and participating in events Fewer crimes and increased police presence. Wyndham City 1 Bullying A quarter of all respondents have experienced bullying in the previous year. School was the most likely place for bullying to occur (55% of occurrences). The modality in which most bullying occurred was verbal (33%) followed by social (27%) with some respondents bullied via more than modality. When asked what helped with the bullying the majority of respondents had multiple strategies of dealing with bullying: 20.4% indicated distracting oneself with other activities was most beneficial, followed by walking away, 19.5% The Neighbourhood Young people overwhelmingly feel safe in their neighbourhood, 70% of respondents indicated they do feel safe, 19% were unsure and 10% did not feel safe. The overwhelming response to what could make respondents feel safer was fewer crimes against people and property (48%) and increase police presence (21%) Wyndham City 2 Survey Data Data Collection and Cleaning The survey was hosted on the Wyndham City Council community engagement platform, The Loop, between Monday 19th of February and midnight Monday 6th of May 2024. The survey has a dedicated page which can be found using this url: https://theloop.wyndham.vic.gov.au/youth-survey-2024 The survey attracted a total of 1,032 responses from people between 12 and 25 years. After data cleaning processes 66 responses were removed, leaving a sample of 966. The cleaning process entailed the following: There were 12 respondents who were excluded as they were not aged between 12-25 years of age. There were 55 respondents that did not complete the survey beyond the demographic question and/or the quality of their responses was considered too poor. For the remaining sample of 966 completed surveys 794 (77%) respondents provided competed surveys. 172 (17%) respondents provided incomplete surveys. The following table provides an overview of the counts and percentages of those included and excluded along with the level of completeness: Included Excluded Total Complete 794 0 794 Partial 172 1 173 Incomplete 0 65 65 Complete % 76.9% 0.0% 76.9% Partial % 16.7% 0.1% 16.8% Incomplete % 0.0% 6.3% 6.3% Count 966 66 1,032 Per cent 93.6% 6.4% 100.0% Wyndham City 3 Contents Executive Summary.............................................................................................................................. 1 Key Demographics.................................................................................................................................. 1 Work and study........................................................................................................................................ 1 Important issues and concerns............................................................................................................... 1 Mental Health and feeling valued............................................................................................................ 1 Bullying.................................................................................................................................................... 2 The Neighbourhood................................................................................................................................. 2 Survey Data............................................................................................................................................ 3 Data Collection and Cleaning.................................................................................................................. 3 Contents................................................................................................................................................. 4 Demographics........................................................................................................................................ 5 Suburb..................................................................................................................................................... 5 Youth Services Districts........................................................................................................................... 6 Gender and Sexual Orientation............................................................................................................... 6 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status............................................................................................... 8 Country of birth........................................................................................................................................ 8 Languages spoken at home.................................................................................................................... 9 Live, Work, Study, and Socialise in Wyndham................................................................................. 10 Live, Work, Study, Socialise Status....................................................................................................... 10 Work/volunteer status............................................................................................................................ 10 Top Issues and Concerns................................................................................................................... 13 What do you think are the three most important issues in Wyndham today?....................................... 13 Are there any other important issues in Wyndham you would like to tell us about?............................. 14 In the past 3 months how concerned have you been about the following topics?................................ 16 Mental Health and Wellbeing.............................................................................................................. 18 Mental health rating in the last 12 months............................................................................................. 18 What do you think could improve your mental health and wellbeing?.................................................. 18 Bullying................................................................................................................................................. 20 Experiencing bullying............................................................................................................................. 20 What helped you deal with the bullying?............................................................................................... 22 Who would you go to if you needed support or help with a problem?......................................... 23 Social Media......................................................................................................................................... 24 Neighbourhood Safety........................................................................................................................ 26 What would make you feel safer in your neighbourhood?.................................................................... 26 Data....................................................................................................................................................... 27 Survey Form......................................................................................................................................... 27 Wyndham City 4 Demographics Suburb The suburb with greatest number of respondents was Werribee (25.1%) followed by Tarneit (16.8%) and Point Cook (16.3%). There were 21 (2.2%) respondents from suburbs outside of Wyndham. The following table provides an overview of suburb by age group: Figure 1. Proportion of respondents by suburb of habitation 25.1% 30.0% 25.0% 16.8% 16.3% 20.0% 12.0% 15.0% 9.1% 7.3% 5.9% 10.0% 2.3% 2.2% 1.5% 0.6% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 5.0% 0.0% A full account of respondents by number and percent: Table 1. Suburbs with the count and per cent of respondents Suburb Count Per cent Werribee 242 25.1% Tarneit 162 16.8% Point Cook 157 16.3% Wyndham Vale 116 12.0% Manor Lakes 88 9.1% Hoppers Crossing 70 7.3% Truganina 57 5.9% Williams Landing 22 2.3% Mambourin 14 1.5% Werribee South 6 0.6% Laverton 3 0.3% Cocoroc 2 0.2% Eynesbury 2 0.2% Little River 2 0.2% Quandong 1 0.1% Laverton North 0 0.0% Mount Cottrell 0 0.0% Other 21 2.2% Total 965 100.0% Wyndham City 5 Youth Services Districts The district with greatest number of respondents was HCW (32.3%) followed by TT (22.7%) and MLWV (21.1%). The following table provides an overview of district by age group: Figure 2. Proportion of respondents by Youth Services District 35.0% 32.3% 30.0% 25.0% 22.7% 21.1% 20.0% 18.9% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 2.2% 0.0% HCW TT MLWV PCWL Rural Table 2. Youth Services Districts with the count and per cent of respondents District Count Per cent HCW 312 32.3% TT 219 22.7% MLWV 204 21.1% PCWL 182 18.9% Rural 21 2.2% Total 938 97.2% HCW - Hoppers Crossing, Werribee TT - Tarneit, Truganina MLWV - Manor Lakes, Wyndham Vale PCWL - Laverton, Point Cook, Williams Landing Rural: Werribee South, Cocoroc, (HCW), Mount Cottrell (TT), Little River (HCW/MLWV), Mambourin (MLWV) Gender and Sexual Orientation In total 960 people provided an answer to this question, which is a response rate of 99.5%. More than half of respondents, 54.6%, identified as male, along with 39.5% female and 2.8% gender non- conforming/non-binary. The responses provided for Other appeared to be mostly nonsense (e.g.: attack helicopter, chicken nugget, dinosaur croissant…etc), whereas some may be legitimate (e.g.: dog, donkey – search Furries), with only three being genuine (e.g.: demigirl, male , questioning gender, and straight) yet have been included for completeness. Wyndham City 6 Figure 3. Participants responses to binary/non-binary identities 60.0% 54.6% 50.0% 39.5% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 1.5% 1.8% 0.9% 0.8% 0.6% 0.2% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0% Other Male Gender neutral conforming/non- Gender fluid Prefer not to say Transgender Intersex Female Gender questioning Gender non- binary The second part to this this section involved a range of options for respondents to provide information on the sexual orientation. In total 741 (76.7%) people provided an answer to this question, which is a response rate of 76.7%. One thing to note with this question is, although there was clearly an option for heterosexual, 148 respondents chose not to select this and add variations of ‘straight’ in the free text field. It’s unclear if they don’t know what heterosexual actually means, or they just felt compelled to use the term ‘straight’ to clarify. These responses were recoded as heterosexual. As with the above question, many of the responses could be considered invalid as they appear to be nonsensical (e.g.: $20 is $20, Wombat, iphone 82), others have an ideological grounding (e.g.: Muslim, Im a male bro what the heck is those options I hate all these questions, I am a normal human being not an alien), other are legitimate responses (e.g.: Neptunic, Omnisexual, queer, Questioning), and others are ambiguous as to status (e.g.: I like girls, male, real man, mysexual, i love myself – these can be cross tabulated with the data from the above question, however some data is missing) Figure 4. Participants responses to sexual orientation 60.0% 55.4% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 14.3% 10.0% 5.1% 5.8% 1.8% 1.1% 0.7% 0.0% Heterosexual Bisexual Pansexual Lesbian Gay Prefer not to Other say Wyndham City 7 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status In total 844 people provided an answer to the question (Q24) ‘Do you identify as...’, which is a response rate of 87.4%. A total of 3.4% (29) people identified as being First Nations peoples; 2.1% (18) respondents identify as Aboriginal, 0.6% (6) Torres Strait Islander, and 0.7% (6) as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. The remainder of responses identified as Neither Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (76.7%) or preferred not to say (16.5%). Figure 5. Proportion of people who responded as being a First Nations person. 4.0% 3.4% 3.5% 3.0% 2.5% 2.1% 2.0% 1.5% 1.0% 0.7% 0.6% 0.5% 0.0% Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Aboriginal and Torres Total First Nations Strait Islander Country of birth In total 944 people provided an answer to this question, which is a response rate of 97.7%. There was a higher proportion of respondents born in Australia in 2024 than in 2022. The following chart outlines the comparison between 2021, 2022 and 2024. It must be noted that the number of respondents was much higher in 2024 (966) compared to 2022 (379) and 2021 (678). Any comparisons made need to consider this as it means the samples are not comparable: Figure 6. Percentage of respondents born in Australia and abroad. 80.0% 71.8% 67.9% 70.0% 60.0% 52.6% 47.4% 50.0% 40.0% 32.1% 28.3% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Australia Other Country 2021 2022 2024 Wyndham City 8 The top 10 countries of birth other than Australia are presented in the following chart. People born in India had greater representation (107) followed by New Zealand (34) and Philippines (17) Table 3. Top 10 countries of birth. What country were you born in? Count Per cent India 107 11.3% New Zealand 34 3.6% Philippines 17 1.8% United Kingdom 14 1.5% Pakistan 13 1.4% Sri Lanka 12 1.3% Singapore 10 1.1% China 9 1.0% Kenya 7 0.7% Myanmar 7 0.7% Languages spoken at home In total 959 people provided an answer to this question, which is a response rate of 99.3%. In 2024, 50.9% of respondents spoke a language other than English, whilst 45.9% do. The most common languages among the 93 recorded are in the figure below. Table 4. The top 20 languages other than English spoken at home. Language Count Language Count Hindi 70 Vietnamese 13 Punjabi 42 Bengali 12 Telugu 35 Dinka 10 Chinese 31 Amharic 9 Tamil 24 Swahili 9 Gujarati 23 Cantonese 8 Urdu 22 Sinhala 8 Malayalam 20 English 6 Tagalog 18 Filipino 6 Indonesian 16 French 6 Arabic 15 Shona 6 Italian 15 Spanish 6 The total number of languages reflects the linguistic diversity across Wyndham. Of the respondents who speak a language other than English, 432 and speak another language, 51 speak two additional languages and 8 speak three or more additional languages. Wyndham City 9 Live, Work, Study, and Socialise in Wyndham Live, Work, Study, Socialise Status In total 962 people provided an answer to this question, which is a response rate of 99.6%. The majority of respondents live in Wyndham (852), with 95 of those indicating they also work, 387 socialise and 459 study in Wyndham. Table 5. Respondents’ relationship to Wyndham I live in I work in I socialise in I study in Wyndham Wyndham Wyndham Wyndham I live in Wyndham 852 95 387 459 I work in Wyndham 95 103 90 75 I socialise in Wyndham 387 90 446 342 I study in Wyndham 459 75 342 539 I live in Wyndham 88.2% 9.8% 40.1% 47.5% I work in Wyndham 9.8% 10.7% 9.3% 7.8% I socialise in Wyndham 40.1% 9.3% 46.2% 35.4% I study in Wyndham 47.5% 7.8% 35.4% 55.8% NOTE: you will notice the total in Table 5 for people studying in Wyndham is different than the total provided in Table 6. This is an artefact of the data provided by the respondents. In the above table 539 people indicated they were studying (this is count of all people who responded to this option in Question 3 in the online form). Table 6 presents the data from Question 12 in the online form and shows 728 people either study or study and work, when the data is cross tabulated to include data from both questions a total of 450 is arrived upon (that is people who ticked the boxes for yes in both questions). This is an indication of some inconsistencies in how the respondents have completed the survey. Work/volunteer status In total 951 people provided an answer to this question, which is a response rate of 98.4%. As this survey was promoted through schools, it is unsurprising that most respondents were studying (64.2%). As this question was a single selection multiple-choice format, respondents could only select one option. This may have impacted options like volunteering, as people can work or study but also volunteer. Wyndham City 10 Figure 7. Work and study status of respondents. 80.0% 64.2% 60.0% 40.0% 20.0% 12.3% 5.9% 7.7% 4.8% 3.8% 1.3% 0.0% Yes, I work Yes, I work Yes, I am Yes, I am Yes, I No, but I am No, I am not casual or part full time studying studying and volunteer looking for studying, time working volunteer working or opportunities looking for volunteer opportunities Table 6. Work and study status of respondents by count and percentage. Are you currently studying, working, or volunteering? Count 2024 Yes, I work casual or part time 46 4.8% Yes, I work full time 12 1.3% Yes, I am studying 611 64.2% Yes, I am studying and working 117 12.3% Yes, I volunteer 36 3.8% No, but I am looking for volunteer opportunities 56 5.9% No, I am not studying, working or looking for volunteer opportunities 73 7.7% Total 951 100.0% Engagement in employment and education looks at the level of participation by age and sex of the population in the labour market, or full or part-time education. A full time employed or full-time student would be "Fully engaged", while part-time students may be fully engaged if they are also employed, or partly engaged if they are not working (ID, Disengagement by age). Comparison between the census and the 2024 Youth Survey are as follows: The level of disengagement presented in the Census is 9.3% for people aged 15-24 years Wyndham, from the above table it is 7.7%. For youth fully engaged (working and/or studying) the Census was 72.6% and the Youth survey 77.8% For those partially engaged the Census was 11.6%, whilst not measured directly, the Youth Survey remainder is 14.8% Of the factors influencing people’s ability work and/or study, Mental health (17%) and transport (14%) have the greatest impact. Wyndham City 11 Figure 8. Factors influencing respondents’ ability to work or study. 18% 16.8% 16% 14.4% 14% 12% 10% 8.2% 8.1% 7.9% 8% 7.1% 6.7% 5.8% 6% 5.0% 4.9% 4.6% 3.9% 3.5% 4% 3.0% 2% 0% The Qualitative responses for the ‘Other” category are as follows: Table 7. Qualitative responses for “other” as factors influencing ability to study or work. Themes Count Per cent School Issues 21 42.0% School 6 12.0% Motivation 4 8.0% Time stress 3 6.0% Bullying 2 4.0% Workload 2 4.0% Distractions 2 4.0% Stress 2 4.0% Extracurricular Activities 11 22.0% Extracurricular 7 14.0% Sport 3 6.0% Work 1 2.0% Personal and Family Issues 10 20.0% Age 6 12.0% Chores 1 2.0% Friends 1 2.0% Religion 1 2.0% Gaming 1 2.0% Individual Differences 8 16.0% Neurodivergence 4 8.0% Disabilities 3 6.0% Mental Health 1 2.0% The most common factors were school related issues where the student nominated aspects of being in school preventing them from working or schoolwork taking precedence, as wells behavioural factors such as motivation and distractions. ‘Academic responsibility’ No wanting to do it or when i want to i get distracted’ Wyndham City 12 To much on my plate and not enough time. Extracurricular activities involving sport or other commitments had the opposite effect of hampering schoolwork. ‘Don't have much time; I have other important things going on during weekdays and weekends’ ‘having too much extracurricular activities to do my home work.’ ‘Very packed afternoons and weekends full of Basketball and other activities’ Some of the respondents were no old enough to be legally employed or had little options available to them. ‘I am too young to be employed, and my family does not support the idea of me being in school’ ‘Lack of jobs for teens under 15’ ‘not old enough to work’ Neurodivergent students and people with disabilities also found employment difficult or impossible acquire. ‘ADHD Autism Option definence disorder OCD’ ‘ADHD. It makes it hard to remember things’ ‘autisim’ Top Issues and Concerns The survey was open from Monday 19th of February and midnight Monday 6th of May 2024, which places the timeframe for the following questions from November 2023 to May 2024. What do you think are the three most important issues in Wyndham today? In total 901 people provided an answer to this question, which is a response rate of 93.3%. The issue with the highest number of first responses, and highest number overall, was Crimes against people and property with 363 responses followed by Community safety (354) and Drugs and Alcohol (324). Table 8. The top three issues faced by youth in Wyndham, 2024 What do you think are the three most Issue 1 Issue 2 Issue 3 Count important issues in Wyndham today? Crimes against people and property 148 114 101 363 Community safety 116 125 113 354 Drugs and alcohol 122 120 82 324 Public transport 94 83 104 281 Bullying 71 94 86 251 Infrastructure (schools, roads, hospitals etc.) 72 81 76 229 Discrimination 64 66 63 193 Not enough green space 59 60 67 186 Climate change 59 46 44 149 Low police presence 46 47 56 149 Access to services 30 41 69 141 Outdoor lighting 20 24 40 84 Wyndham City 13 Are there any other important issues in Wyndham you would like to tell us about? In total 324 people provided an answer to this follow up question, which is a response rate of 36.0% of the above question. Of the people who responded, 91 (28.0%) provided a response that indicated they had no additional concerns to contribute; 21 respondents had concerns that were classified as ‘Other’ as they didn’t fit into any of the other categories. Qualitative analysis of ‘Other’ from the top three issues in the preceding question. Table 9. Additional concerns expressed supplementary to the top three issues. Theme Count Per cent Theme Count Per cent Community Safety 139 30.8% Community Support 36 8.0% Crime 23 5.1% Cost of Living 11 2.4% Youth crime 22 4.9% Events 4 0.9% Community Safety 20 4.4% Aid 4 0.9% Violence 14 3.1% Support 3 0.7% Bullying 10 2.2% Mental health Serv. 3 0.7% Gangs 10 2.2% Medical care 2 0.4% Police presence 7 1.6% Service access 2 0.4% Stabbings 7 1.6% Homelessness 2 0.4% Vandalism 7 1.6% Access to services 1 0.2% Theft 6 1.3% Activities 1 0.2% Hooning 4 0.9% Employment 1 0.2% Damaged bus stops 3 0.7% Mental health 1 0.2% Murders 2 0.4% Poverty 1 0.2% Illegal fireworks 1 0.2% Behaviours 33 7.3% Guns 1 0.2% Discrimination 15 3.3% Harassment 1 0.2% Poor behaviour 4 0.9% Animal abuse 1 0.2% Religion 3 0.7% Transport & Infrastructure 75 16.6% LGBTQIA+ 3 0.7% Traffic 20 4.4% Respect 2 0.4% Public transport 16 3.5% Unity 2 0.4% Infrastructure 9 2.0% Racism 1 0.2% Population 7 1.6% Morals 1 0.2% Roads 6 1.3% Rudeness 1 0.2% Transport 4 0.9% Motivation 1 0.2% Road condition 3 0.7% Drug & Alcohol 26 5.8% Council 3 0.7% Vaping 16 3.5% Development 2 0.4% Drugs 6 1.3% Shops 2 0.4% Addicts 2 0.4% Overcrowding 2 0.4% Alcohol 1 0.2% Unsafe pathways 1 0.2% Smoking 1 0.2% Environment 43 9.5% Sport and Recreation 15 3.3% Litter 10 2.2% Sporting facilities 7 1.6% Pollution 9 2.0% Recreation spaces 6 1.3% Green space 6 1.3% Sport 1 0.2% Parks 4 0.9% Soccer 1 0.2% Climate change 3 0.7% Education 8 1.8% Lighting 2 0.4% More schools 3 0.7% Maintenance 2 0.4% Quality of Education 3 0.7% Cycling Infrastructure 2 0.4% Schools 1 0.2% Dumping 2 0.4% School funding 1 0.2% Habitat loss 1 0.2% Other 21 4.7% Open spaces 1 0.2% None 91 20.2% Climate 1 0.2% Wyndham City 14 Many of the supplementary responses already had an option provided in the preceding question. It feels like respondents wanted to expand on their responses and provide additional detail. As per the preceding table, Crime, specifically youth crime figured prominently in the responses. ‘I’m scared of the gangs that roam around my neighbourhood, and its scary to just bike ride alone :(‘ ‘There are often fights outside of school grounds with people recording and no one helping.’ ‘Gang people going in skeleton creak have been killing people and taking and stealing their belongings’ Public transport was mentioned 16 times, and this was mainly in relation to perceived poor quality service or lack of service in certain areas: ‘Some school buses are packed, if they can get articulated buses that would be great’ ‘The public transport options are the biggest issue currently’ ‘Safety when using public transport.’ The proliferation of littering and dumping of rubbish was a concern raised by 10 respondents: ‘The amount of rubbish around from dumping on the curb, general litter, trolleys.’ ‘Quite a bit of rubbish and litter by the Werribee River’ ‘Littering as people litter on others empty property during construction and that costs moneys and time to get removed’ The cost of living has been raised by 11 participants: ‘I would say cost of living but that's more of a broader problem than restricted to only Wyndham’ ‘How life is getting hard these days’ ‘Wynactive membership is pretty expensive’ Discrimination was felt to be an additional issue for 15 respondents: ‘Some people in the community are being racist and bullying others. There are proofs (video) that people are bullying others like kids’ ‘LGBTQIA+ Hate and Discrimination, especially in schools.’ ‘Yes, many people are discriminating people based on their looks. This is affecting their mental and social well-being.’ Vaping was raised as significant issue to the health of youth by 16 respondents: ‘Vaping on busses especially around Williams Landing is extremely common. Everyday I suffer second hand smoking because the busses are enclosed and vapes are being used excessively.’ ‘The amount of vapes I see at eagle stadium on the outdoor courts or at the park on the streets ‘ ‘It is highly concerning to witness a large number of teenagers indulging in smoking and vaping near my residence in Point Cook. This is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately.or even in bushes is crazy.’ Increasing the amount of accessible sporting facilities was favoured by 7 respondents: Wyndham City 15 More basketball courts either at Eagle so all teams can play their and not have to travel to places like Tarneit to play Saturday games. There are many footy pitches, but there are rarely any soccer pitches to train at. Also, many gyms in Whyndham that are only allowing people over 15 to the gyms. It should be changed to 13 and above. There are not enough sporting facilities in Truganina. The only proper sporting area known is Eagle Stadium, which takes me more than an hour to reach via multiple buses. In the past 3 months how concerned have you been about the following topics? In 2024 the topic that caused the most concern was ‘Stress’ with 47% of respondents feeling concerned or very concerned. The second top issue of concern was ‘School’, which 42% of respondents feeling concerned or very concerned. The areas of where respondents were not concerned at all were ‘Infectious Disease’ (70%), ‘LGBTIQ issues’ (76%) and ‘Gambling’ (68%). NOTE: the above figures are based on aggregating ‘Not concerned’ at all and ‘Slightly concerned’ to get the values for feeling concerned, and also ‘Concerned’ and ‘Very concerned’ for not concerned Wyndham City 16 Figure 9. The top concerns facing Wyndham’s youth in the previous three months. Anger and emotions 6% 18% 31% 20% 24% Body image 26% 24% 21% 29% Bullying 18% 23% 20% 40% Infectious diseases 11% 19% 23% 47% LGBTIQ issues 9% 18% 10% 63% Domestic Violence 7% 14% 20% 14% 45% Family and relationship breakdown 9% 19% 19% 14% 39% Finances 12% 16% 18% 18% 35% Vandalism and littering 9% 18% 19% 21% 33% Stress 16% 31% 19% 16% 18% Mental Health 15% 23% 22% 14% 26% Drugs and alcohol 10% 15% 14% 13% 48% Vaping 17% 17% 11% 13% 42% Social media 9% 15% 25% 17% 34% Gambling 7% 9% 16% 12% 56% School disengagement 8% 13% 23% 17% 39% Misrep.of young people in media 12% 15% 21% 17% 36% Crime 16% 24% 20% 18% 23% Discrimination 13% 21% 21% 17% 28% Personal Safety 16% 24% 21% 16% 22% Roads and traffic 13% 19% 22% 20% 26% Vandalism and littering 9% 19% 20% 20% 32% Stress 14% 26% 20% 17% 22% School 21% 21% 24% 15% 19% Transport 10% 16% 26% 16% 32% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Very concerned Concerned Neutral Slightly concerned Not concerned at all Wyndham City 17 Mental Health and Wellbeing Mental health rating in the last 12 months In total 905 people provided an answer to this question, which is a response rate of 93.7%. Measured on a scale of one to five, young people indicate their average wellbeing to be neutral with a score of 3.4. The question in the survey was phrased as: In the last 12 months, how would you rate your mental health? The issue encountered during analysis when comparing the scores against the qualitative response in the following question is, there was no overt classification on what the magnitude of the score was comparable to. It was dependent upon how the respondent’s perception of ‘mental health’ as a health condition and their present life experience. For example, from the qualitative responses people who answered 0 or 1 recognised this an indication for poor mental health. However, it appears some respondents who answered with a high score perceived this as being a large magnitude of poor mental health. Figure 10. Self-rated Mental Health score, comparison between 2021, 2022, and 2024 surveys. 40.0% 35.0% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% 1 2 3 4 5 2021 2022 2024 SAMPLE SIZES: 2021=574, 2022=207, 2024=905 What do you think could improve your mental health and wellbeing? In total 616 people provided an answer to this question, which is a response rate of 68.0% of the number of respondents who provided an answer to the preceding question. The main factors that would improve young people mental health and wellbeing are intrapersonal (21%), and interpersonal (20%), and recreational pursuits (17%) Wyndham City 18 Table 10. The themes derived from the from the issue that respondents provided that potentially improve their mental health and wellbeing Theme Count Per cent Theme Count Per cent Intrapersonal 164 21% Support services 127 16% Positivity 21 3% support 63 8% Behaviour 19 2% Health services 18 2% Manage time 17 2% Mental health 27 3% sleep 16 2% Counselling 19 2% Hobby 13 2% Environment and Community 117 15% Solitude 10 1% Infrastructure 22 3% Breaks 9 1% Green space 24 3% Less stress 9 1% Safe spaces 15 2% Meditation 9 1% Safer community 15 2% screen time 9 1% Community part. 14 2% Religion 7 1% Crime 8 1% Diet 7 1% Environment 6 1% Wellbeing 6 1% Safety 5 1% Acceptance 5 1% Police 4 1% Fun 4 1% Hygiene 4 1% Anxiety 3 0% Education 49 6% Interpersonal 161 20% School stress 33 4% Socialising 58 7% Less school work 13 2% Friends 46 6% No school 3 0% Communicating 33 4% Family and Home life 31 4% Bullying 17 2% Cost of living 12 2% discrimination 4 1% Family 12 2% Inclusivity 3 0% Finances 7 1% Recreation 132 17% Transport 14 2% Physical activity 46 6% Public Transport 10 1% Outdoor time 35 4% traffic 4 1% Activities 32 4% PS5 11 1% Gaming 8 1% Intrapersonal: these are factors that are related to the self. They are themes that lay within the respondents own locus of control. ‘Trying to look at the positive side more and focus on things that make me happy as well as organising my time for school and work well so I stay on track.’ ‘Staying more calm over little things’ ‘having less stress, and people who are more understanding’ Interpersonal: These are factors that are related to people around the respondent. They lay outside of the respondents locus of control. ‘getting more help and asking for help when needed’ ‘I believe that to improve my mental health and wellbeing decreases in discrimination and bullying could be an effective approach for a next step.’ ‘Better communication with family and friends’ Recreation: These are factors that the respondent can undertake to help improve wellbeing ‘Go on walks, pilates, yoga, sports and catching up with friends and making new friends.’ ‘Spending more time outdoors and being more with friends’ Wyndham City 19 ‘probably have more fun activities in the community so we can take our minds of something.’ Support services: These are the external organisations and support networks that can be used to improve wellbeing. ‘Having the ability to connect with peers and counsellors if necessary’ ‘More mental health services and programs in the wyndham area’ ‘Continue therapy and connect more to Melbourne. Reach more academic options. Become more clear in my future.’ Environment and Community: These are factors relating to the physical environment and community structures. ‘Expanding recreational services, such as building more parks, community centers, and sports facilities, would significantly enhance my well-being. These additions can provide opportunities for physical activity, social interaction, and relaxation for all.’ ‘Making more LGBTQIA+ safe spaces, or at least make them more publicly known.’ ‘probably more police patrolling because there are always people on the road that i live on racing and hooning around’ Education: These are predominantly related to school ‘Manage my time better so I’m not as stressed with school work.’ ‘School workload, leaving no time for social and mental wellbeing.’ ‘Not going to school’ Family and Home life: These factors are related to the home and family relationships ‘Honestly, if the cost of living wasn’t so bad and we could afford to live my mental health would be hugely improved.’ ‘Les bills, Less stress more holidays, less violence’ ‘Spending more time with family and friends could improve it because it removes all the stress away and helps you relax.’ Transport: These are factors identified with moving internally and externally to Wyndham. ‘Commute stress is the main factor that affects my mental health and wellbeing. To improve this, I think buses should arrive on time and should be correctly updated on the PTV app and Google Maps.’ ‘Better public transport, less traffic on the roads.’ ‘Well recently i've been feeling very happy but the main thing that i see in Wyndham is very very poor traffic in the morning especially on ballan road linking manor lakes to the rest of wyndham and werribee’ Bullying Experiencing bullying In total 962 people provided an answer to this question, which is a response rate of 99.6%. Bullying is a key determinant impacting health and wellbeing. Nearly one third of all respondents have experienced bullying in the previous year. Although the sample sizes are different between 2021 and 2022, there has been an increase respondents reporting being bullied. The addition of the I’m not sure category in 2024 has compromised the validity of the comparisons: Wyndham City 20 Figure 11. The proportion of people who have or haven’t been bullied. 100.0% 77.4% 75.1% 80.0% 60.0% 54.6% 40.0% 30.7% 22.6% 24.9% 20.0% 14.8% 0.0% Yes No I'm not sure 2021 2022 2024 School was the most likely place for bullying to happen and accounted for 54.6% of occurrences for the 232 people who answered the question, followed by online bullying which accounted for 26.8% of occurrences. Figure 12. Location of reported bullying activity 100% 71.9% 80% 54.6% 52.2% 60% 41.0% 26.8% 25.6% 40% 12.2% 10.1% 9.6% 9.4% 7.8% 20% 6.5% 6.1% 2.8% 2.2% 0% At home At school Online At work Other 2021 2022 2024 The most common modality for bullying behaviour was verbal (33.2%) followed by Social (27.0%) and cyber (22.7%): Wyndham City 21 Figure 13. Modality of bullying behaviour 35.0% 33.2% 30.0% 27.0% 25.0% 22.7% 20.0% 15.7% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 1.3% 0.0% Cyberbullying Verbal bullying Physical bullying Social bullying Other The majority of people who indicated they were bullied, it was done so via one modality (114) Many of the respondents (177) reported being bullied via more than one modality. Figure 14. The number of different modality instances people reported being bullied through. 45.0% 39.2% 40.0% 35.0% 30.2% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 16.5% 15.0% 13.7% 10.0% 5.0% 0.3% 0.0% 1 2 3 4 5 What helped you deal with the bullying? In total 677 people provided an answer to this question, which is a response rate of 74.8% of the respondents who answered the preceding question. Distracting oneself was the most used strategy (20.4%) followed by walking away from the situation (19.5%). Wyndham City 22 Figure 15. Strategies used to deal with bullying. Distracting yourself with other things 20.4% Walking away from the situation 19.5% Talking to friends 15.2% Talking to family 14.2% Talking to a support person 9.3% Confronting the bully 8.9% Nothing has helped deal with the bullying 5.9% Changing schools 3.8% Other 2.8% 0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% Who would you go to if you needed support or help with a problem? In total 954 people provided an answer to this question, which is a response rate of 98.8%. This was a multiple response question whereby respondents could select any and all that applied to them. There were 231 people who provided at least one response and 566 who had two to five people they could rely on, and 157 people wo had six or more people. The most likely source of support are friends (20.4%) followed by parents (20.2%) and siblings (10.7%): Wyndham City 23 Figure 16. The people youth would most likely turn in time of need. Friend 20.4% Parent 20.2% Sibling 10.7% Relative 9.4% Family friend 9.1% Teacher 8.9% School counsellor 5.3% Youth services 4.9% Partner 3.6% Gp/doctor 3.3% Elder/community leader 2.7% Other 1.6% 0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% Figure 17. The percentage of people who could get support from one of more people. 30.0% 25.0% 24.2% 19.5% 20.0% 18.1% 15.0% 13.5% 10.0% 8.2% 6.2% 4.9% 5.0% 1.9% 1.5% 0.9% 0.9% 0.1% 0.0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 One in four respondents had at least one person they could go to for support. Overall, four in five people had up to five people they could get support from. Social Media In total 953 people provided an answer to this question, which is a response rate of 98.7%. Of those who responded 811 (84.0%) had at least one social media account. While there was use across all social media platforms, Instagram, Snapshot, Tik Tok and Discord were the most popular platforms. Wyndham City 24 One out of two young people use Instagram, Snapshot, and Tik Tok. Only a small number of respondents indicated they didn’t use social media (15.2%): Figure 18. Proportion of respondents who have an active account from the most common platforms. 52.0% 51.8% 60.0% 48.0% 44.9% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 18.5% 15.2% 14.9% 14.2% 13.3% 12.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Instagram Snapchat TikTok Discord Facebook I don't X Reddit Twitch Other use Social Media Of the respondents who indicated they did use social media, more than one in three (68%) have multiple accounts. At one in three people had a least one account and one in five people had 2 or 3 account: Figure 19. Proportion of respondents with one or multiple social media accounts 35.0% 32.0% 30.0% 25.0% 19.8% 20.0% 18.8% 15.0% 13.2% 10.0% 6.7% 5.0% 4.0% 2.4% 2.5% 0.6% 0.0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Number of Social Media accounts per Individual Wyndham City 25 Neighbourhood Safety In total 958 people provided an answer to this question, which is a response rate of 99.2%. Overall, the majority of respondents (70.3%) felt safe in their neighbourhoods, and only 10.4% did not: Figure 20. Respondents’ perception of feeling safe in their neighbourhoods 80.0% 70.3% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 19.3% 20.0% 10.4% 10.0% 0.0% Yes No Unsure What would make you feel safer in your neighbourhood? Of those people who responded to the preceding question, 237 people provided an answer to this question, which is a response rate of 25.9%. The most common issues that would make people safer in their neighbourhoods are less crimes against people and property (28.2%), an increase in police presence (20.6%) and improved lighting in streets and parks (18.1%): Figure 21. Factors that would make people feel safer in their neighbourhoods. Increased Police 28.2% Better lighting at night in streets and parks 20.6% Better public transport options 18.1% Neighbourhood connections 10.1% More accessible youth spaces 8.5% Other 8.5% What would make you feel safer in your 6.0% neighbourhood? 0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% Wyndham City 26 Data The data used in compiling this report can be found in this Excel document: Data Request - Youth Survey Data 2024 - 20240507.xlsx Survey Form A copy of the survey and the final structure and format can be viewed in this document: Form_Youth_Survey_2024.docx Wyndham City 27 Wyndham City 28

Wyndham City Council Youth Survey Report 2024 PDF

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