A WYNDHAM service hopes the employment of a youth lawyer will help the city’s younger population gain better access to legal advice.
Wyndham Legal Service has engaged the services of youth lawyer Yassin Noureddine to provide free advice to people aged under 25 who live, work or study in the municipality.
It’s the first time Wyndham has had a lawyer dedicated to helping young people, and Mr Noureddine hopes he can encourage them to seek help when they need it.
Recent research by the legal service found young people often did not know where to go for advice and struggled to attend appointments with lawyers because of poor public transport.
“Many of the youth of Wyndham are disengaged in relation to legal services,” Mr Noureddine says.
“With no legal aid office around, the youth of Wyndham had no access to justice beside the realms of a private law firm who receive legal aid funding.
“[I] will work closely with other networks that are concerned with issues that affect youth. These issues include homelessness, drug and alcohol issues, financial issues and mental health issues.”
Mr Noureddine hopes to be able to educate the city’s younger population about the legal system and help them understand that it’s OK to ask for help.
“It is not a mere casework position in which people approach me with their legal issues and have me advocate on their behalf.
“Youth lawyers need to go beyond delivering casework education and information to young people and be emotionally engaged in the process as a way of building relationships and overcoming barriers that prevent young people from seeking assistance.
“I want to focus young people’s attention on early intervention and preventative strategies to assist them in dealing with the criminal justice system.”
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