It’s never too late to make a positive change - Angela’s 40 years in Youth Justice
After 40 years working in Youth Justice, Angela Ricciotti, still looks forward to coming to work.
As a Youth Justice worker, she’s seen the good, the bad and, as she puts it, “the ugly”. But through all of it, Angela has never lost her belief in young people or the difference a supportive adult can make.
“I genuinely care for the young people and I find it a privilege to work with them,” she says.
But Angela didn’t start with a Youth Justice career in mind. She was working at a women’s shelter and then a friend suggested she might be brilliant working with young people in a custodial environment.
“And here I am 40 years later! I started as a Youth Justice Worker and now work as a Training Compliance and Welfare Manager at Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre where I look after the wellbeing of staff and young people alike.”
Seeing Youth Justice change
A lot has changed since Angela started in Youth Justice in 1986. There is now a much greater understanding of the complex needs and traumatic experiences that many young people in Youth Justice have faced. We now apply a more therapeutic, individualised approach based on positive behaviour support and trauma informed practice to better meet the needs of the young people.
But one thing has remained constant: the privilege of being welcomed into a young person’s life, even if it is only for a short time.
“They let you into their lives,” she says. “They know that you’re there and you’re a stability for them. It’s important to be someone young people can talk to without feeling judged.”
It’s never too late
Angela does however, wish that more people understood that a young person’s past does not have to determine their future.
“It’s never too late to make a positive change,” she says. “The role of a Youth Justice worker is not to tell young people exactly what to do. It is to guide them, support them and help them make better choices in the future.”
The moments that make it worthwhile
One moment that has stayed with her involved a young person she had worked with who later called and asked her to meet his partner and baby.
He was working in construction and spoke about getting up each morning and going to work. He talked about his family and how important that structure had become in his life and his plans for the future.
For Angela, it was a simple but powerful moment.
“He was just talking and saying that everything sort of came together. And I think for me that was like, wow. It is those moments that remind me that change can happen”.
A different way of seeing young people
After four decades, Angela’s message to the wider community is simple.
“Don’t be too quick to judge. Instead, pause and think about what a young person may have experienced and the resilience and courage they may have already shown. Walk around in their shoes a bit.”
It is advice Angela has lived by throughout her career. After 40 years, she is still here, still learning, still supporting her colleagues and still believing that every young person has the capacity to make a positive change, with a little help from others if needed.
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