Mansfield Park, Adelaide

Your neighbourhood.
Your future.

Young people from around Mansfield Park are coming together — mentoring younger kids, making real friends, and shaping what this neighbourhood becomes.

Get Involved See what's next ↓
How it started

Something is stirring in the Parks.

Young people from around Mansfield Park are waking up to an idea: that they can shape what their neighbourhood looks and feels like. Not waiting for someone else. Not watching from the sidelines.

In May, we gathered for the first time at The Parks Library to ask the simple but powerful question — what kind of community do we want to build together?

That was just the beginning. More gatherings are on the way — see what's next.

Young people connecting at the Parks gathering
Two girls messing around for the camera on the oval
Why we gather

Help others. Grow yourself.

Two things happen here at the same time — the neighbourhood gets better, and so do you.

01

Serve Your Community

Mansfield Park is shaped by the people who show up for it. Through conversations, creative work, sport, and snacks, we figure out — together — what kind of neighbourhood this can actually become. Especially for the kids growing up here right now.

02

Grow as a Person

The program has a way of revealing things about yourself that you didn't know were there. You'll be stretched. You'll figure out what you actually stand for. You'll leave different — not just more capable, but more yourself.

The Junior Youth Program

What is the Junior Youth Program?

It's for 12 to 15-year-olds. Small groups meet regularly with an older youth — their animator — working through a sequence of texts alongside conversation, arts, sport, and service to the community.

Everything in the program is built around three aims:

01

Saying what you mean

Power of expression

Building the confidence and the language to think clearly and speak up about what matters.

02

Seeing beneath the surface

Spiritual perception

Learning to look past appearances — at the world, and at people — with more insight and less judgement.

03

Knowing what you stand for

Moral foundation

Working out your own sense of right and wrong, and finding the strength to act on it when it's hard.

Groups work through the 14 junior youth texts developed by the Ruhi Institute — you can read more about them at ruhi.org. Alongside the study, junior youth put what they learn into practice through service to their own community: community days, tree planting, helping younger kids in the neighbourhood, and homework clubs.

Youth gathered around an animator at the whiteboard
Get Involved

You're not just here for yourself.

Part of what you'd be doing here is mentoring younger kids — 12 to 15-year-olds who are at a stage you were at not long ago. You'd be their animator: not a teacher, not a parent — someone who actually gets it because they've been there recently. Someone worth listening to.

You're not just growing yourself. You're lifting up the generation coming right behind you — showing them what it looks like to care, to show up, and to take responsibility for something. That changes you in ways you won't expect.

Being an animator isn't a side role — it's the heart of what we do. We're looking for more animators — if that's you, get in touch.

Friendship

The friendships tend to stick.

Not group chats that go quiet after a few weeks — the kind that comes from doing something together, showing up consistently, and caring about the same neighbourhood.

A lot of people who've come through this program are still close with the friends they made here, years on.

Three young people walking together along the path through the park
At a gathering

What a gathering looks like

Conversation, creative work, sport, and snacks. No lectures.

01

Conversation

We talk about what matters to us — the neighbourhood, our goals, and what we can actually do about either.

02

Arts & Expression

Creative activities that let you think differently, express what you care about, and connect with people you'd never normally meet.

03

Sport

Getting active together is one of the fastest ways to break the ice and build a bit of team spirit.

04

Snacks

Some of the best conversations — and friendships — start over snacks. We'll have some on hand.

Youth sitting around a table deep in discussion
An animator at the whiteboard talking with a group of junior youth
Where The Parks Library 46 Trafford St, Angle Park SA 5010 ↗ Get directions
Last Gathering Saturday 30 May  ·  2pm – 4pm
Who 15–24 year olds  ·  Free entry
Junior youth standing in a circle together on the grass
Made at group

Their artwork.

Every idea we talk about, someone ends up painting. The arts are how the group thinks out loud — and how what we're learning makes its way out into the neighbourhood.

Ink portrait of a bearded figure with a bright blue gem drawn at the centre of the chest

Gems in Our Hearts

Everyone is carrying something valuable inside — you just have to look for it.

Painting of a red and yellow sun reading "Don't be quick to judge", ringed by black and blue stick figures

Don't Be Quick to Judge

A ring of people around a sun. Same crowd, seen twice — once in shadow, once in light.

Painting of a yellow figure standing between bright blue and green on one side and dark red and brown on the other

Happy Current, Bad Past

A figure standing between the two — the hard colours behind, the bright ones ahead.

In their own words

What young people say

We asked the junior youth in our group what they'd tell a friend about it. These are their answers, unedited.

"In the book there are many different scenarios where people think about others. You're reading it and it kind of just gets in your head — and then you remember to think about someone else, to care for someone while also caring for yourself."

E
Ella Junior youth, Mansfield Park

"First we go to the library, then after we go to the park — we either play basketball or soccer, or paint. It's fun. And you can make new friends."

N
Naomi Junior youth, Mansfield Park

"We have a book, and every person reads, and then we answer questions. It's helped me with getting along with other people — and you make friends."

B
Brian Junior youth, Mansfield Park
One junior youth pushing another along on a chair, both laughing
Two junior youth running across the park at sunset
What's next

Community Days — coming soon.

We're planning regular community days for Mansfield Park: more chances to connect, mentor, and build something together. Dates and details will land here first.

Want to be the first to know? Get in touch and we'll let you know as soon as it's locked in.

Get involved

Want to be part of what's next?

Whether you want to join a future gathering, become an animator, or just find out more — reach out. We reply to every message.

Email Us — info@youthsa.org.au

15–24 year olds welcome  ·  Free  ·  Parents welcome to reach out too