The Zone is an innovative youth AOD program that has been developed to engage young people and families from marginalised communities in the Northwest of Melbourne. Key to the Zone Practice Framework are its intersectional and whole-of-family approaches, tailoring services to the unique and complex needs of young people and families, while responding to the impact of racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, intergenerational and complex trauma that can manifest as problematic AOD using behaviours.
This presentation outlines The Zone’s Intersectional Care Coordination Platform, and how we co-designed an integrated, wrap-around service for young people and their families, through building a diverse workforce, community engagement, collaboration and family engagement. We will share learnings from the first year of The Zone’s operation, highlighting the influence of a range of cultural and lived experience knowledges on our service’s development.
Presenters
The Zoom Team
The Zone are a team of youth AOD practitioners, care coordinators, and family workers, including those with lived experience and cultural knowledge reflecting the diverse intersectional target populations they work with, including African, Pasifika and LGBTQIA+ young people. Speakers include Anyaak Abiel, Avei Erika, Irrawaddy Matuauto-Epa, Michael Gordon-Tarnowski, Slam Ross, and Riona Taylor, who work across consortia including YSAS, Odyssey House, and Drummond Street Services.