Ange Williams
Personal Bio Ange Williams is a youth justice coordinator at Child Youth and Family (CYF). |
Youth justice is a special section of the law that deals with offending by children aged 10–13 years, and young people aged 14–16 years. The youth justice system aims to resolve youth offending without young offenders receiving criminal convictions, as they would under the criminal justice system.
The focus of CYF’s youth justice work is to hold young offenders accountable for their actions, and to address factors behind offending.
Ange’s 12-year career in youth work began by accident, prompted by a story printed in the paper that named a local street as the most dangerous in the South Island. “It blamed youth on a lot of the negative things that were going on,” Ange says. “We went to a public meeting about the issue, and from there, my husband and I became youth workers in the area.”
At CYF, Ange now works to build knowledge of community resources, networks and opportunities that can contribute to an offending-free future for young offenders, and to improve the wellbeing of young people and their families. “All young people have potential – some just need help to identify exactly what that is. They all have an energy and light that needs to be released and I love assisting in that process,” says Ange.
“I believe young people are not only trying to become their own person but they are trying to do it by being accepted. Pressures from peers, whanau and society often encourage young people to fit a norm, rather than be an individual. What happens to a young person if they feel they can never be the person they want to be? I feel that lack of self worth, and confidence and comfort in who they are, are major issues facing young people today.”
On the WFCT
Ange sees being involved in the Youth Advisory Group of the Wayne Francis Charitable Trust as a unique opportunity to see things from a funding perspective. “Being involved with the Trust has been brilliant for my own personal and professional development,” she says. “As a group, we really want to help youth services build capacity so they can become self functioning, and to encourage funding agencies to fund youth services collaboratively.”