Community Voice

Community Voice is a Firefly-led initiative focused on gathering the insights, ideas, and lived experiences of the adults who care for, work with, and support young people in the Bay and Basin. 

While many of our projects focus on the voices of young people themselves, Community Voice recognises that the adults in their lives—parents, carers, teachers, youth workers, coaches, neighbours, service providers—hold valuable knowledge about what’s working, what’s missing, and what might be possible. 

By listening to these perspectives, we can build a clearer, more complete picture of how to help young people thrive. 

What’s it about? 

Community Voice is a long-term engagement project that brings people together to: 

• Share perspectives on what children and young people in our region need to thrive 

• Reflect on what services, opportunities and supports currently exist—and where the gaps are 

• Identify practical ways we can work together to make positive change 

• Strengthen relationships across sectors and build momentum for collaborative action 

We’re using the ARACY Nest model as a guiding framework, which helps communities consider the wellbeing of young people across six key areas: learning, safety, health, material basics, connection, and participation. 

What’s happened so far? 

We’ve brought together a Wisdom Council, a small group of diverse local representatives from areas like education, parenting, emergency services, First Nations, and youth services, to help shape our approach and guide the development of a community-wide survey. 

In May 2025, we hosted a Community Voice Workshop with 21 local participants, representing organisations and individuals across the Bay & Basin. Together, we explored key questions about hopes, barriers, and opportunities for young people—and reviewed and refined survey ideas and interview questions to ensure they’re relevant and useful. 

We also asked: When our community shares what we know, what becomes possible for our young people? 

The answer? A lot. 

What we heard 

Some of the emerging themes include: 

• A strong appetite for better communication. People want to know what’s happening in Bay & Basin, what services exist, what events are on, and where to go for support. 

• A desire to amplify youth voices. Many participants said they want to hear directly from young people and co-design alongside them. 

• An openness to work together. There’s real interest in creating shared solutions, especially when it comes to making information accessible and building stronger community connections. 

What’s next? 

Right now, we’re finalising the Community Voice Survey, which will be launched later this year to capture adult perspectives across the Bay & Basin. At the same time, our Youth Advisory Group is creating youth-led questions to run alongside the adult survey. 

We’re also preparing to bring youth and adult participants together to co-design a Bay & Basin Communication Forum, a dedicated space to workshop how we share local information more clearly and effectively. 

This is about making sure everyone—young people, families, services, and community groups—can connect, contribute, and thrive. 

Want to be part of the next phase? 

We’d love to hear from you. Whether you want to help co-design the survey, contribute to the upcoming forum, or just stay in the loop, get in touch.