Working as a violence prevention officer at the Dubbo neighbourhood centre, you never know what a day will bring, and for 19-year-old Campbell Watts, this is what appeals to him about the job.
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"You can't really predict what is going to happen during the day," Mr Watts said of his trainee position at Connecting Community Services.
"You don't really know who's going to walk through the door, who's going to attend your programs or what kind of state some of the people will be in.
"You deal with all sorts of your drug, alcohol, DV (domestic violence) and all that line of stuff with all the clients."
Mr Watts has a lot of responsibility for a young employee but he also has a lot of support around him.
"The big thing is with this line of work that the amount of support around it is pretty good - I have some very good mentors going into this role," Mr Watts told the Daily Liberal.
"Also the training that we receive going into the role, just how to deal with certain situations, how to deal with it personally on a mental state, which I think is pretty important, and on a physical level.
"All the training involved and the support stuff around it makes the job a lot easier."
Some of Mr Watts' family members have worked in similar positions in the community and he said growing up in that environment had helped him on the job - he was almost destined to work in community services.
"I kind of like having the problem there in my face and I have to solve it. It's not something you can really predict what's going to happen," he said.
"So I think that's the joy of it and meeting the people, putting a smile on the community's face, is obviously a feeling that's second to none.
"The biggest thing about the job is making people's days a bit better."
Mr Watts works a lot with the First Nations community, particularly with men and youths.
His job is to develop and deliver programs for people coming in and out of the court system as well as re-engagement programs back into the community, which are educational and focus on socialising.
Mr Watts recently won the 2023 Rhino Award for Apprentice and Trainee of the Year, which he said was "a bit of a surprise".
"I've helped a couple of people out and putting them in a lot better positions I think is probably my main achievement, just seeing people 12 months on ... is pretty unreal, especially in such a short amount of time," he said.
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Mr Watts has been working with his mentors to deliver a new program with the Department of Communities and Justice called Leaving Footprints, a voluntary pilot education project that explores the impact that lateral violence and domestic violence have on participants' communities and their lives.
Mr Watts said, in this time of increased cost-of-living and homelessness, it was worthwhile "just letting people know that you're there for them".
"The main message is, reach out to people - that's why these services are here," he said.
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Sarah Falson
Daily Liberal journalist. I love telling people's stories. Get in touch at sarah.falson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Daily Liberal journalist. I love telling people's stories. Get in touch at sarah.falson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
