A Tasmanian youth services organisation has launched a documentary to pull back the curtain on the work its staff do every day with some of the state’s most vulnerable young people.
Home Base released the film at a screening attended by around 160 people at The Playhouse last week, offering a rare look inside an organisation that supports young Tasmanians facing homelessness, disengagement from school and involvement in the youth justice system.
Home Base CEO Dianne Underwood said the documentary grew out of a desire to show not just what the organisation does but who makes it happen.
“Our biggest point of differentiation is the amazing team we’ve got and the work that they’re doing,” she told Pulse.
“Whilst not a polished, perfect version of our work, it’s a real one and it’s a glimpse into the people, the moments, and the relationships that sit at the heart of what we do.”
The six-minute film features four staff members from different parts of the organisation, chosen to show how Home Base’s services are interconnected.
Underwood said the documentary format was a way to showcase the work without compromising the privacy of the young people it supports.
“We’re so often asked to, ‘Oh, have you got a client that you can bring along?’ But it’s really tricky with the young people we work,” she said.
“If we do that in a way that it’s our people talking about the way they do work, it really gets that message across.”
She said Home Base won’t stop at the documentary, with staff set to produce vlogs showing a day in the life of a social worker.
Family members who attended the screening were “just so excited to show people what we do, ’cause it can look like a bit of a black box really,” Underwood said.
She said Tasmania’s treatment of its most vulnerable young people reflects the character of the state.
“We are talking about young people 12 years old who might not have a safe place to stay,” she said.
Underwood also used the moment to call for a fundamental shift in how governments fund community services in Tasmania and beyond.
She said the current system of short-term contracts and competitive processes is broken and should be replaced with outcomes-based funding driven by communities themselves.
“Go into communities where there’s need and ask them what they need, what are the gaps, and actually identify what the outcomes are that we should be getting, and then commission services to do that,” she said.
“We have the perfect opportunity in the current chaos to change it ’cause it’s already broken.”
You can watch the Home Base doco here.
