Published on Wednesday, 30 September 2020 at 3:48:00 PM
The Geraldton Police and Community Youth Centre (PCYC) and the Geraldton Regional Aboriginal Medical Service (GRAMS) Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) team is supporting youth wellbeing through friendly sport competitions.
The aim of the competitions was to empower youth in sport participation, enhancing the physical, emotional, educational and social wellbeing of young Indigenous boys.
The pool competition winner, Michael Ryan, played against ten other boys, taking home a $50 Sports Power gift voucher. Michael wanted to take this opportunity to share the message, “smoking isn’t smart” to discourage his peers from smoking.
The TIS team delivers a range of programs at the centre to improve youth knowledge on smoking and reduce tobacco use among young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Tackling Indigenous Smoking Officer, Kurt McIntosh, says that their goal is to strengthen the resilience of Indigenous youth and preventing young people from smoking.
“We focus on reducing the prevalence of tobacco smoking in our community by providing support and education through workshops and youth engagement programs,” said Mr McIntosh.
“Creating a positive environment through sport helps to provide a safe and supportive space for children to share ideas and knowledge.”
“Tobacco smoking is the largest preventable cause of cancer, responsible for more cancer deaths in Australia than any other single factor,”
“In order to get closer to closing the gap, we must show the young people the benefits of never becoming a smoker.”
“We would like to thank the local PCYC for inviting us to be involved in the sport competitions and we look forward to participating in similar programs in the future,” said Mr McIntosh.
The Geraldton Regional Aboriginal Medical Service has a dedicated team of Tackling Ingenious Smoking team members to help with smoking cessation and prevention within the community.
For assistance or support to quit, contact the GRAMS TIS team on (08) 9956 6555.
Pool competition winner, Michael Ryan, with GRAMS TIS officers, Kurt McIntosh and Brent Walker
Fairest and best basketball player winner
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