Media release - 24 January 2025

“Ready Fest” to celebrate positive impacts of ACYP’s Recovery Youth Support Service in Northern Rivers

On Thursday the NSW Advocate for Children and Young People, Zoë Robinson, will host a community event to mark the end of the Advocate’s Recovery Youth Support Service (RYSS), a program which has supported young people in the area on their journey following the 2022 floods.

The event, Ready Fest, will take place in Lismore on Thursday, 30 January 2025 from 4pm to 7pm.

Ms Robinson said, “Ready Fest will focus on the positive impacts the RYSS team has had working with the Northern Rivers communities and showcasing the unwavering strength and resilience of children and young people in that region.”

“It will be an afternoon of fun activities, workshops, and insightful discussions designed to equip young people with the confidence and skills needed in disasters,” said Ms Robinson.

The community event will focus on disaster preparedness for children and young people and bring together children and young people, community stakeholders and the broader sector who have been involved with and supported ACYP’s work.

“Our goal is to provide these families with opportunities to connect with a wider network of support systems, fostering shared experiences and understanding,” added Ms Robinson.

The event will support the Advocate in ensuring that the children and young people the RYSS team have supported can begin a process of transition and handover to other services, and continue to receive assistance and connection once the RYSS service has concluded.

A Lismore Council spokesperson said, “The Advocate has seen firsthand the important role that the emergency services and the not-for-profit sector have in supporting community preparedness and recovery, across the Northern Rivers. It is our intention to help increase the connection that individuals feel to these services and supports to ensure a more streamlined approach to community preparedness and recovery to future events.”

The event will bring together key stakeholders alongside flood-affected children and young people, with representatives from communities and organisations.

The event will be held on Thursday, 30 January 2025 at Crozier Field, Cathcart Street, Lismore from 4.00pm – 7.00pm, with formal proceedings to kick off promptly at 5.00pm.

For more information or to arrange an interview with the Advocate for Children and Young People please contact: Anwen Ruttle on 0439 346 249 or at: media@acyp.nsw.gov.au.