As the newest case manager in Clarence Valley's Reconnect program, Sonya Mears Lynch wants to make sure that young people aged 12 to 18 and their families know the Reconnect early intervention youth homelessness prevention service is there for them.

Rather than working exclusively with young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, Sonya's role involves working with parents and families of young people to support family reconciliation.

"We need to include families in the support process to get better results for young people," Sonya said. "If a problem in a family isn't solved when kids are ready for the next step, some of them give up and they don't get to connect up with their families."

Sonya has six children of her own and comes from a background in juvenile justice, where she often came into contact with young people in trouble.

"I always wanted to work with youth and think it is so rewarding," Sonya said. "You get a wonderful feeling of accomplishment when you can give support to children who have had a difficult life. With the right support, they can grow and maybe stay in their own home and have a good outcome."

"If we can offer them a support system that helps them with everything from employment, education, training, life skills and personal development, this knowledge can help them overcome boundaries and set them up as well-rounded individuals."

Sonya will also be liaising with other community groups and services to make sure they know the Reconnect service is there and can offer referrals and outreach work if needed. She will be working in the new Reconnect office at 46 Queen Street, Grafton (opposite Farmer Lou's).

"Grafton is a rural community and I'd like to push through the stigma that sometimes sticks to individual young people," Sonya said. "I would like to challenge racial discrimination. It doesn't matter if you are pink or yellow; I see everyone as human. If we can all come from that basis of perception, and see the commonality of problems we all have, people might change their perceptions and reach a level of understanding."

For more information about the Reconnect program, or to contact Sonya, you can email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .