Musicians Making a Difference (MMAD) has developed a creative online youth centre – Access All Areas - to help expand access to their creative mentoring programs to more young people, irrespective of location, lockdowns and circumstance.
‘Access All Areas’ is MMAD’s free, creative wellbeing platform aimed at empowering young people under 24 to access all areas of their potential by providing a one-stop-shop for exclusive opportunities, information, mentoring and networks. It is believed to be the first creative online youth service of its kind in Australia.
The project received $50,000 in funding from Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation and was one of the 13 charities to share in almost $600,000 to enable projects that address specific community hardship as a result of COVID-19.
Co-founder of MMAD, Dominic Brook said the additional funding from Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation ensured the development of the platform was not only fast-tracked but delivered as quickly as possible to those most in need.
“We have been overwhelmed with the positive response and engagement from our local community and networks, but the statistics tell us that there are more young people out there who need our help,” Dom said.
“The pandemic and lockdowns have been especially hard on the vulnerable and disadvantaged youth throughout communities, especially those regional and remote areas. Young people have lost so many creative outlets and opportunities and AAA provides the platform to restore those opportunities and their connection to community, regardless of social restrictions.
“It’s why it was so important to get ‘Access All Areas’ up and running as quickly as we could as a way to provide creative support to young people looking to find the people, programs and means to move past challenges such as mental health, homelessness, family breakdown, drug and alcohol dependency, unemployment and re-offending.”
The innovative service has been designed for mobile-first in line with youth usage habits and is adaptive no matter how a person chooses to access the site.
Chair of Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation, Jennifer Leslie said she was delighted to see ‘Access All Areas’ up and running and available given the extension of lockdowns for the entirety of New South Wales.
“We have proudly worked with MMAD for more than a decade and they continue to find innovative new ways to connect and engage with those in most-need, no matter the challenge,” Jennifer said.
“Providing organisations such as MMAD with funding to help them adapt and enhance their traditional program delivery models and reach more at-risk youth within our communities, is exactly why the Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation was founded. We will continue to support the programs that make meaningful differences to the social wellbeing of our regional communities and those in need.”