Barry Berih
Sheena WATT (Northern Metropolitan) (09:54): I rise to give a special shout-out to North Melbourne resident Barry Berih. Born to Eritrean migrant parents and having grown up in the North Melbourne public housing estate, where he continues to reside, Barry is the founder of Young Australian People, a local community organisation of young people from public housing who are helping young people from public housing find meaningful employment and explore tangible pathways to a career that is right for them. It is tough enough as it is between overcoming language barriers and lack of academic qualifications, networks or work experience, not to mention social stigma, and the work YAP does, despite all that, is nothing short of inspiring. YAP is a real passion project for Barry, who is absolutely driven and passionate and committed to delivering a positive social impact for his community.
Barry’s background is very, very much rooted in the community. He has been a youth worker in the City of Melbourne and Flemington. He works for Cohealth. He volunteers at the Centre for Multicultural Youth and is currently working for the YMCA as a customer service officer. Barry is also a peer advocate for the Flemington and Kensington Community Legal Centre, on top of wearing a peer support hat with Drummond Street Services for the Birdy program. You are an absolute superstar, Barry.