Young Life Uralla has received a $3000 community grant from the Greater Bank

Uralla Young Life area coordinator Kate Gardiner said that the young people she works with face a number of challenges.

“Teenage years are really hard to navigate, and I think it’s even harder now than it was when I was a kid,” she said.

“We just want to get alongside young people and help them navigate that time by being positive role models.”

The organisation provides mentoring, chaplaincy, a positive environment and a listening ear to kids.

“A lot of our kids come from broken homes, in Armidale we deal with a lot of Indigenous and low socio-economic families, it can be really rewarding,” Ms Gardiner said.

“Teenagers are often a group of people that no-one wants anything to do with, we love them and we just want to help them get through that stage if we can.”

The program is predominantly volunteer run, all of the staff are trained and have their working with children checks.

In Uralla there are 20 to 30 teenagers that attend every week and more than 10 primary-aged kids.

Ms Gardiner said that most people would be surprised by the issues these adolescents face.

"There’s a lot of mental health issues, a lot of low self-esteem and a lot of stuff coming out of broken families, just being hurt by that and trying to work through that,” she said.

"In terms of building relationships we just try to speak positive words into their lives and remind them that there is hope and they’ve got a future – they’ve got a purpose in life.”

Young Life is the latest recipient of the Greater Bank $3000 community grant.

Ms Gardiner said the organisation plans to use the money to send teenagers to Summer Camp and continue to run their weekly club activities.

“Our Summer Camp is an annual camp, we do a lot of fundraising so that it’s not a financially specific camp – we want everyone that wants to go to be able to come along,” she said.