Early intervention, therapeutic support to address childhood trauma and mentoring to increase social and emotional skills reduce youth crime with the recent Senate Inquiry Report into Australia’s Youth Justice and Incarceration system confirming that punitive responses do not work.
Early intervention for those most in need is exactly what Human Nature Adventure Therapy do for the ‘missing middle’ by providing innovative, highly impactful youth mental health services across the Northern Rivers region.
They provide free, individualised care for the most disadvantaged and at-risk youth who struggle to engage with traditional services.
They have recently announced the appointment of Jen Parke as its new Chief Executive Officer.
‘I am honoured to step into the role of CEO at Human Nature,’ said Ms Parke.
‘Having spent my career working with young people who have fallen through the cracks in the service system, I have loved every minute of working closely with the current and past clients of Human Nature to design and deliver the mental health support they are telling us they need.
‘Human Nature is known as the region’s specialists at engaging those adolescents most in need of mental health support and least able to access existing services. It’s truly remarkable to witness the strength and capacity for healing and growth in our young people when provided with the right supports. I’m so proud and excited to be leading the organisation, and our incredible team as we prepare to scale our services to other locations.’
Jen Parke brings many years of experience as a youth participation and rights practitioner and manager. More than 20 years ago she moved to the Northern Rivers from Sydney to work with Juvenile Justice managing the implementation of the innovative Youth Justice Conferencing scheme where young offenders and the victims of their crime were brought together in a facilitated, court diversionary process to address the impacts of crime. For the past five years, Jen has been an integral part of Human Nature, first serving as Programme Manager and later as Head of Operations.
During her tenure, Jen has played a pivotal role in expanding Human Nature’s service model. She co-developed with young people the progressive and ground breaking out of clinic therapeutic program Activ8 and adventure-based group program Elev8. Over the past five years, Jen has worked closely with participants to ensure these initiatives meet the complex and changing needs of young people in our community. Her collaborative approach reflects a deep commitment to empowering youth and fostering self-determination.
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