Youth Week 2026 is a chance to celebrate young people’s creativity, leadership and contribution to community life.
The 2026 theme, Dream. Dare. Do., speaks to possibility while reminding us that young people thrive when the adults and services around them actively protect safety, stability and connection. It also offers a practical lens for how we respond when a young person needs support, helping them hold onto hope, ask for help early and take the next step toward stability and wellbeing.
For young people aged 12–25, Youth Week (16–26 April) offers free local events and activities delivered by councils, schools and youth organisations, providing an opportunity to connect, showcase strengths and use their voice on what they want in their community. These moments of connection and participation also create an opportunity to make support more visible, approachable and easier to access.
For parents and carers and for the service providers who support young people every day, Youth Week is also a timely prompt to make help-seeking visible and straightforward, particularly when alcohol or other drug (AOD) use is part of what a young person is navigating.
Why Youth Week 2026 is a key moment for AOD education and support
Dream. Dare. Do. is also a useful way to think about early alcohol and other drug support for young people. Dream is about protecting hope and possibility, Dare is about having the courage to ask for help and Do is about taking practical action before concerns escalate.
Many Youth Week 2026 activities are intentionally alcohol and drug-free. These settings help create inclusive, safer environments for participation and they also provide a practical platform to share reliable, non-stigmatising information about alcohol and other drugs. Youth Week supports prevention and early intervention by reinforcing a clear message to young people, families and communities: when AOD is affecting wellbeing, relationships, education or safety, support is available. In this sense, Youth Week can do more than celebrate young people. It can help create the conditions for hope, honest conversation and early action.
In youth support settings, concerns commonly raised include alcohol use, cannabis use and vaping. Parents, carers and professionals also seek guidance on health impacts, safety planning, educational participation, relationship strain and the practical implications of the law. Effective responses are those that are coordinated and youth-centred in approach addressing the broader circumstances around use, rather than focusing narrowly on the substance alone. The goal is not only to reduce harm. It’s to help young people reconnect with safety, support and a sense of what comes next.
What SDECC Youth AOD Counselling offers: support that backs young people to lead their next step
Young people need a coordinated response across families, services and systems working together early to protect safety, stability and connection. This kind of support helps create the conditions for a young person to keep sight of their goals, feel safer asking for help and take practical steps forward.
Where a young person’s alcohol or other drug use is part of the picture, it is often better understood as a response to difficult circumstances than the sole cause of them. Frequently, there are multiple underlying pressures such as conflict at home, experiences of trauma, mental health concerns, a loss of safe relationships, disrupted education and changes in support networks.
At SDECC, we stand alongside young people and keep the focus where it belongs: early AOD support that is coordinated with families, schools and other services to help de-escalate emerging crises and support reconnection to safety and stability.
In practice, that means offering support that is compassionate, practical and focused on meaningful next steps.
A coordinated, compassionate response helps address these drivers while reducing AOD-related harms.
- Confidential, non-judgemental counselling for young people aged 12–25, including support when parents/carers are concerned about a young person’s use or the impact of someone else’s use.
- Practical harm-reduction and behaviour-change strategies to support safer decision-making, reduce risk, and strengthen protective factors (including responding to peer influence and high-risk situations).
- Integrated wellbeing support that explores stress, anxiety, mood, sleep, trauma impacts and coping, while recognising that AOD concerns often intersect with mental health, family stress and social determinants.
- Family and carer support (where appropriate and with consent) to strengthen communication, clarify boundaries, and develop practical safety and support plans.
- Clear information on health, safety and legal considerations, delivered in accessible language to support informed choices and reduce confusion and fear.
- Care coordination and referral pathways with schools, GPs, mental health, housing and other youth supports so families and providers can work from a shared plan.
In the spirit of Dream. Dare. Do. early support can help a young person clarify goals, strengthen coping strategies and re-engage with education, family and community. For parents, carers and providers, it is an opportunity to reinforce that asking for help early is a protective action, not a failure. It can also help the adults around them respond with clarity and confidence, making support easier to access and act on.
When might it be time to reach out?
Support does not need to wait for a crisis.
Early conversations and timely referral can make a measurable difference particularly if parents, carers or professionals are noticing:
- more frequent or riskier use than planned
- problems at school, TAFE/Uni or work (attendance, motivation, performance)
- conflict at home or changes in friendships
- using substances to cope with stress, anxiety, sleep problems or difficult experiences
- legal worries or safety concerns
- feeling stuck and wanting change but not knowing where to start
How to access SDECC Youth AOD Counselling (and what to expect)
Referrals to SDECC Youth AOD Counselling may be made by parents/carers, schools, GPs and other services, and young people can also self-refer. Initial appointments focus on understanding the young person’s context, strengths, and immediate priorities, and then agreeing on achievable goals such as reducing risk, stabilising safety, decreasing use, improving coping, or strengthening the supports around them. Where appropriate, we work collaboratively with families and service providers to ensure care is coordinated and practical.
A note on privacy and collaboration: Counselling is confidential, and we explain confidentiality and its limits at the outset. With the young person’s consent (and in line with relevant requirements), we can involve parents/carers and coordinate with other services to support shared safety and wellbeing goals. Where there are serious and immediate safety concerns, information may need to be shared to protect the young person or others.
Youth Week call to action: make support visible
Youth Week works best when celebration is paired with visible, practical pathways to support. Councils, schools, libraries and youth organisations can contribute by sharing reliable AOD information, embedding clear referral options into youth-facing communications, and reinforcing that early help-seeking is normal and encouraged, particularly for concerns related to alcohol, cannabis and vaping.
This Youth Week, we encourage parents, carers and service providers to back young people to dream with hope, dare to ask for support early, and do the next practical step toward stability and wellbeing.
Where to get help:
If there is an immediate risk to someone’s safety, call 000. If you need urgent support, contact your local crisis service or health helpline.
- Lifeline 13 11 14
- Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800
- Mental Health Line 1800 011 511
- National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline 1800 250 015
- 13YARN 13 92 76
- eheadspace online chat 3pm-10pm everyday by creating an account via headspace.org.au