Who’da thought? Postcards emerge as edgy, beautiful, funny, highly collectible communication tool for youth

‘If you could imagine one resource you would most like to have when working with young people, what would it be?’

This is the question we asked a group of people working in residential care at Anglicare Victoria. They all agreed that they wanted a simple tool for communication between young people and adults. A tool where adults could encourage a young person, ask if they are ok, or assure them that they have their back; where young people could ask for help, express their feelings or speak up about something; or that anyone could use to say thank you, sorry or flag that they needed to talk.

‘What about postcards?’ someone in the group suggested. That idea sparked the evolution of what is now a boxed set of 20 postcards called POSTcards—from me to you.

It is remarkable that at a time of instant messaging, postcards have endured as soulful, funny, poignant, beautiful, edgy and highly collectible artifacts. Just walk into your favourite café and see how the postcard adds a certain edge of cool to visual messaging.

• I really like the way you …
• Can we talk?
• Stay strong
• Alone
• Deadly!

These are the kinds of messages you can send with this set of 20 POSTcards. They can be slipped under a door, left on a desk, given to someone, mailed, stuck on a mirror, pinned on a noticeboard, placed on a fridge or kept as mementos in scrapbooks, journals and albums. The words on the front of the postcard carry a powerful message, and like any postcard, you can write your own personalised message on the back.

With an eclectic mix of designs, these POSTcards are for young people and anyone who supports them. These include youth workers, family workers, teachers, counsellors, chaplains, mentors, residential care workers, foster care workers, parents, community houses, sports clubs, youth clubs, and school camps.

Make these POSTcards freely available for young people and adults to use. Give a set to every young person and staff member in out-of-home-care. You never know, a postcard may appear under your door when someone has an important message they may be unable to say face to face.

Karen Bedford