In the context of R U OK Day, I was reading a particularly vulnerable post yesterday from a successful business leader, who shared their powerful story about being strong until the load became too heavy to bear. His post resonated with so many. Those of us who lead high achievement lives are often well skilled in displaying an appearance of calm success and happiness despite what might be going on behind the scenes, and despite any residual trauma we may still carry from childhood. And the mental and emotional load on many only continues to rise in this complex world we live in. 
 
Which got me thinking about the kids. The rising rates of depression and anxiety in our youth signals a deeper problem in society, and there’s been much discussion about why that is, and the role that social media, and family and community breakdown might play in this.  
 
We also have a rise in youth crime, with peoples’ homes being broken into in the night while they sleep, and often their cars stolen. Not only is this a terrifying occurrence, it also results in a rise in insurance premiums for everyone at a time when the cost of living is so high.  
 
So what do we do? We can wring our hands and complain, we can get tougher on youth crime in court, and we can build more juvenile detention centres. But what’s the bigger question – how did those kids get there in the first place? 
 
We know that in Queensland, 58% of kids in juvenile justice, spent time in out-of-home care. How many of those that weren’t actually removed from their families, were still known to Child Safety anyway? The stats are alarming. 
 
In business, we know the power of thinking and planning for the long term. We set strategies for the now to manage the risk of tomorrow. And yet in our communities, we so often scream for immediate solutions without also considering the longer play strategies that could deliver a better outcome for our kids and society in the future. 
 
This is the reason I give back to Communify every week in support of Bindi Bindi Place which is for those invisible little babies and toddlers that need help to set them up for a better future. There’s lots of complex reasons why their parents aren’t able to care for them properly, because life is complex, and sometimes we make poor decisions. Sometimes we just can’t carry the load anymore.