BRYA INGRAM/STUFF
Youth workers Soni Kula and Maxine Sweeney will be offering college students a pink doughnut on Friday in exchange for making a statement against bullying.
Marlborough s youth workers are calling on the community to set aside old-fashioned mindsets and prejudices. “Young people are hurting themselves, and they re killing themselves because of bullying, and if we don t stand up and start to actively voice that it s not OK, then nobody s ever going to be safe in what they re doing,” Marlborough Youth Trust s Maxine Sweeney said. Youth worker Soni Kula said he felt there was a strong toxic culture within Marlborough that did not allow young men to express themselves.
SCOTT HAMMOND/STUFF
Marlborough District Youth Council members Ashleigh McElhinney, left, and Poppy Lane, youth worker Soni Kula, and Nelson Marlborough DHB youth health promoter Reuben Molnar will be involved in a youth hui to be held on Friday at My Space.
“A lot of the times our youth feel like their voices aren t heard or that no-one s listening, but this is definitely a space where we want to listen.” Youth worker Soni Kula is talking about the Youth Hui to be held at Marlborough Youth Trust s My Space on Friday afternoon, February 26. “So we re inviting them to come and speak. We want to hear what s going on, and we want to know what we can do to support them better moving forward,” he said.