By Michael Newhouse
SYDENHAM resident and dedicated community worker Peter Mulholland was last week named Brimbank’s 2007 Citizen of the Year for his years of tireless work helping some of the West’s most disadvantaged and troubled youths.
The 39-year-old youth worker and senior manager for the Salvation Army Westcare was honoured at Brimbank City Council’s Australia Day ceremony last Friday, held at Sunshine’s Village Cinemas at Sunshine Marketplace.
“To be recognised in that way is quite humbling, to be honest,” Mr Mulholland told Star last week.
“To have that recognised in such a formal way was quite overwhelming, I actually think there’s a lot more people in the community that do a lot more work and contribute to the community more than I do,” he said.
Mr Mulholland works with disadvantaged adolescents who have been forced out of home, providing a safe home and work environment for them to adjust to life outside what was often an abusive home environment.
He and his team of about 50 workers operate six houses around Brimbank, trying to re-integrate the 12-18 year-olds into the general community, which is not always an easy task, he said.
“These young people that I work with might have mental health issues, drug and alcohol issues, certainly preyed on by certain undesirables in the community – they’ve had a pretty crappy kind of start to life,” he said.
“Through no fault of their own, they have been given a destiny, given a journey, and what we try and do is make the destination of that journey a pretty nice place,” he said.
When he first found out he’d won the Citizen of the Year, he said he was a “little embarrassed” that he’d been singled out when it’s really a team effort.
It’s an emotional job and Mr Mulholland admits he’s seen a lot over the years. He’s seen many of the teenagers blossom with the attention and care and he’s seen the opposite.
“I’ve seen some kids go on to get university degrees and you almost become very proud, like a father, knowing that you’ve played some kind of role,” he said.
“But we’ve also buried kids. So you have that extreme.”
One of the biggest parts of the job is combating the public perception that these kids are simply troublemakers, not able to fit into society.
But thanks to people like Mr Mulholland, this perception is changing.
“Slowly and surely… people are seeing these kids as part of the community and people are willing to take a few chances and give these young people a go, and that’s all we can ask,” he said.
