On the 26th of June I began the experience of a lifetime, when I travelled to Lake Dewar where I met 119 other incredible youths between the ages of 16-25, each with a story to tell. During this week we attended Melbourne Parliament House for 3 days where we debated 20 bills on issues currently affecting Victoria. I had the privilege of being a member of the “Individuals 1” team who delivered a bill regarding the necessity of increasing access to rehabilitation programs in rural areas such as Echuca. We were successful in passing our bill through the Victorian Youth Parliament which enabled it to be given to the Minister for Families and Children, Jenny Mikakos, for further consideration. Each afternoon we wound down from the seriousness of parliament with a session called Wreck, which was basically a whole lot of fun, based around different themes for each night. On Wednesday we were given an entire day of Wreck more formally known as Wreck Wednesday at the camp site, full of countless opportunities to explore yourself and most importantly have a lot of fun! Like everything it had to come to an end. On the 1st of July, I left camp life and went back to reality saying goodbye to not just new friends but an incredible supportive family like no other.
Kourtney Wallace
