The 'voices' project: Capacity-building in community development for youth at risk

We report three cycles of an action research' project aimed at increasing the capacities of young people at risk in a rural Australian town. Drawing on an experience-based' approach to risk assessment and the concept of collective efficacy, we aimed to provide a group of 10 young people with a safe and uncensored space within which to voice their own concerns about the risks and problems confronting them. Their stories were then made public through theatrical performance. The purpose of the article is to demonstrate the dynamics of capacity-building in marginalized communities as a means of producing the political changes required for improving health outcomes in a setting previously opposed to such a strategy.