Formerly home to the Inverell Food Pantry, 18 Vivian Street will soon become I C YOUth, a safe space for young people to gather after school.

Homework assistance, games and activities will be on offer as youth workers build relationships with attendees, learn about their struggles and help them out.

"There might be self harm, suicidal, mental health issues, could be a homelessness, could be domestic violence or abuse against them, could be disengaging from school for xyz reason," youth worker and I C YOUth board member Rhonda Mason explained. She said workers can refer youth to local services to assist with those issues, help them make appointments, and talk with their families and schools.

"We support them, we're an advocate for them and we mentor them," she said.

Engaging with school will be one focus of the centre, which will include a computer lab for homework. 

"Everyday in Inverell, each of our public high schools have about 200 students not attending school that day," Rhonda said.

"The reasons for that; there's anxiety, there's mental health problems, there's disrespect of the education system, there's all sorts of family breakdowns - but we could look and blame and point fingers, or we can roll our sleeves up and say 'this is a problem, let's get in and help these young people.'"

Mental health is an ongoing issue for many.

"The biggest killer in young people across Australia is suicide. Bigger than road deaths, it's a huge problem. And then you add the rural aspect of that and the stats jump up again," Rhonda said.

She said that homelessness, particularly couch surfing, is also a significant problem for many Inverell youths. 

"They'll go from home to home and maybe they'll be welcome for a week or two and wear out their welcome and leave for another; but they tend to leave clothing, school shoes, books, hats, personal belongings at different ones and then they're feeling so disconnected," she said.

She said the reasons varied; some leave home by their own choosing, while others are kicked out or have fled from violence or abuse. In an unstable environment, with very few belongings, homeless youth can feel very fragile and can often follow a path leading to depression, drugs, alcohol and even crime.

Rhonda said a youth centre will allow preventative actions to be taken when problems first begin emerging.

"If they can become healthier in all aspects of life - in relationships, in mental health, in their physical health, in stability, in their home life and things like that - then they're going to make better choices and be better community members, better parents; and our community in Inverell will be greatly affected by helping this generation that are coming through," she said.

Juvenile Justice has expressed interested in referring youth to the centre, in the hope that they will build relationships with staff and benefit from the various programs that will be running, such as Youth InSearch. Many local services have also expressed interest in working with the centre, including Pathfinders, Community College Northern Inland and Centacare. The Danthonia community and local councillors have also given their support to the project.

An information night held last week was well attended, and resulted in several volunteers keen to get the centre up and running. The timeline is unclear as development applications are currently underway to renovate the space, but board members are keen to see the centre launched in June or July.

I C Youth are still looking for assistance in a variety of areas including grant applications, social media, graphic design, construction, cleaning, fundraising, bus driving, mentoring and more. All volunteers working directly with or near young people must have valid, up to date working with children and police checks, and will undergo a stringent application process, focused on child safety. 

To volunteer or learn more about the Inverell Community Youth Centre, call 0406 181 024 or visit the I C YOUth website.