Welcome!
The Redcliffe Area Youth Space (aka RAYS or "the Youth Space") is a youth organisation and registered charity that works in the communities of Redcliffe and North Lakes. We're a dynamic, inclusive, crazy place that's all about young people and making life better for them. If you're between the ages of 10 and 24, check us out!
The Youth Space is ALL about young people. We're a service that works with young men and women between the ages of 10 and 24. We run crime prevention programs, leadership groups, award winning education and training programs, a safe social space called "drop-in" from 2:30 to 4:30 every week day, we provide confidential Youth Work Support from 8:30 to 5 every week day, outreach and activities in North Lakes every Thursday night, outreach into Redcliffe every Friday night throughout the winter and spring months, fun activities and a bunch of positive youth culture events including the SURGE SK8, Scooter and BMX comps, the RedROCK live music nights and the odd crazy fun Family Fun Days on various weekends throughout the year.
If you're between the ages of 10 and 24 you're welcome to come on in and say hi! Just show some respect, don't bring any alcohol or drugs to the Youth Space, and don't hurt anyone or start any fights and everything will be just fine!
We don't have many rules, but the ones we do have are pretty simple and very fair. They're based on common sense and respect. We're a Youth Centre and that means we are often dealing with young people who are having a rough time so our priority is around making this a safe space that everyone can enjoy. We'll only ever call the Police if we have to, and those reasons are all listed below. But first, take a look at our rules...
- No Violence (that includes threats)
- No alcohol or drugs (we don't care if a bottle is opened or unopened, drugs and alcohol are NOT on)
- No Racism, Sexism or Homophobic remarks
- No vandelising the building or stealing stuff
- Treat EVERYBODY with respect!
We'll only ever call the Police or Child Safety if we have to. If we're going to call the Police we'll always tell you first to give you a chance to comply with our rules and either have a chat with us about what's going on, or if you won't calm down, to leave until you do.
If we need to call Child Safety because you are in danger of getting hurt, we'll discuss it with you first unless you report something really serious and we have to take action right away to keep you safe. Here are the reasons we'll contact authorities:
- You seriously threaten to harm someone
- You seriously threaten to harm yourself
- You assault somebody on site
- You disclose a serious intention to commit a crime
- You report to us that you are being harmed by someone
- You vandelise our building or steal something
- You bring drugs or alcohol to the building and refuse to move on
- You engage in a drug deal on site, in our grounds, or at the skatepark.
See, all pretty simple and fair. 
Why do we have such a hard stance on violence, racism, alcohol and drugs? Because each of those things destroy lives.
Consider this...
* NO one benefits from an act of violence. It might feel like a good idea when you're revved up and angry but someone is going to get hurt and no one wants that.
* Racism makes no sense whatsoever. So what if we have different colour skin or different cultural backgrounds? We're all part of the exact same human family.
* Alcohol... there are pubs to drink it in, go there. If you're too young to get into a pub you're too young to be drinking alcohol full stop. Plus, drinking in public is an offense in Queensland and the Youth Space is an unlicensed public space that works with children and young people. We can't stop you drinking outside our building but we can call the Police to move you on, but we can stop you in our building and we will.
* Drugs... hmmm... we really REALLY don't like drugs. It's simple - they ruin families, destroy young lives and fund criminal activities that make communities unsafe. If you saw what we see EVERY day of our working lives, you'd dislike drugs as much as we do! We frequently see young people whose minds and lives are totally destroyed and for some of them, there's no coming back. Ask yourself... is it worth it?
If you have issues with violence or racism or drugs or alcohol, we can help you. There are amazing resources available in Queensland to help and we're linked in with most of them so talk to us about it and we will do everything in our power to help you. If we can't find you help, we'll make a LOT of noise until someone does. The Youth Space is about changing lives for the better, and it would be a huge honour for us to support you to overcome any issue you have that's stuffing around with your life.
If you can respect our rules and our outlook on life, we look forward to seeing you!