Young people are increasingly using the internet as both a source of information and a location of their peer communities. The challenge for many online resources is that they are created as discrete websites with little interaction. The vast majority of people are either unaware of these sites or unwilling to visit a stand-alone site for drug, health or sexual information. Vibewire sees a need for this information to be packaged and presented in the context of a wider site dealing with a range of youth issues and interests as a stepping stone to more specific information and support.

Resourcewire aims to:

• connect young people with the information and resources to better inform their decisions
• connect this information and resources with an existing community and strong participation tools
• effectively link young people to offline help and participation
• be well designed and easy to navigate
• be peer-led, relaxed, inclusive and non-judgemental.

By providing health and educational resources within the Vibewire.net portal, we're providing easier access to these resources for the many young people who won't go looking for them separately, but who will still benefit from this information. This would allow them to visit the site for film or music or politics, but when they need this information provided by this section they'll know it's there, and many will browse it casually in a way they never would for a stand-alone website without an attached community.

Resourcewire will be launched in mid 2008 on vibewire.net. This new section will provide contextual, explanatory and next-step articles about mental health, alcohol and other drugs, sexual health and general health.

Currently being piloted around issues of health, Resourcewire is also applicable to legal issues, government interactions, career choices, business/financial literacy, and community involvement, on top of the cultural, creative and political arenas in which Vibewire currently engages young people.