With empty supermarket shelves, dilapidated abandoned buildings and a primary school next to a prison, this is a suburb that Australia has thoroughly painted over.
Troubled youths armed with blood-filled syringes frequently attack stores, causing some stores to close early and others to stop stocking up on supplies.
Just 200 meters from the road, an elementary school, high school, and juvenile detention center are all on the same block.
Welcome to Ayres, located in the city’s tough southwest corner.
Crime rates are high, there are vacant houses on every street corner, and debilitating social problems such as drug addiction, unemployment, and low incomes plague the area.
This suburb, just outside Campbelltown, is made up of 87 per cent social housing and has a rapidly shrinking population of just over 3,200 people.
Ayres was thrust into the spotlight last week after Anthony Leeds, a well-known rapper and content creator better known as Spaniard, took to the streets to expose some of the issues plaguing the area.
spanian video series Into the Hood focuses on him taking his camera into the heart of notorious “hoods” around the world and speaking with locals about what they perceive to be some of the area’s biggest issues. .
He’s wandered through Paris’ “ghettos,” Barcelona’s “drug apartments,” Sydney’s infamous “suicide towers,” and more, but the latest episode focuses on Ayres and what’s really going on there. It shocked many people.
Spanien made the video by visiting “hoods” around the world.Photo: Instagram / Spaniard
His most recent trip was to Ayres in Sydney’s southwest. When he visited, the shelves at the local IGA supermarket were completely empty.Photo: YouTube/Spanian
Youth crime is a concern, with some local business owners telling news.com.au that groups of teenagers are often seen wandering the streets during school hours, as well as brazenly leaving their shops. He said some people steal merchandise.
“There’s definitely a concern about things being damaged,” said one shop owner, who requested anonymity.
“It’s very stressful. But it’s also sad and it seems like some of the kids are lost.”
Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous and worked at a local restaurant, added that while theft remains a problem, it’s not as serious as many people think.
“People think of Ayres and only see all of us here as criminals, but that’s not true,” they said.
“There are certainly issues like theft, but I think it’s much better than before. A lot of kids need extra support and help to find their way.”
“Ridiculous” city development
Parents want their children’s school experience to be educational and inspiring, and that the learning environment shapes their children and enables them to pursue their dreams.
Most schools across Australia aim to provide happy, healthy and stimulating areas for children, centered around green ovals and expansive libraries.
But for Ayres students, the first thing they see when they walk through the main gate is the eerily sharp razor wire that adorns the top of the youth detention center’s fence.
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Many homes in Ayres are abandoned.Photo: YouTube/Spanian
In many homes, residents seemed to have left everything behind.Photo: YouTube/Spanian
Traditional Owner and Wiradjuri Elder David Bell, known locally as Uncle Dave, has been transforming the lives of young people in the area for over 20 years through his Young Spirit Mentoring Programme.
Founded in 2001 as Father & Sons, the program’s roots are deep in youth service and community empowerment, and since then, it has expanded beyond most youth enrichment services. Masu.
Uncle Dave wakes up before dawn most mornings to serve free breakfast to area youth before creating a fun workout program to energize them before class.
His passion for helping his community comes through in the way he speaks. He told his news.com.au it was a “stupid” decision to put the Raby Youth Justice Center between the two schools.
“What message does that send to our young people? It was a stupid decision,” he said.
“I think it’s terrible. We have to make better decisions here. That was a huge failure in terms of planning.
“We live with it every day. It’s a daily norm here. Some of the parents here have intergenerational trauma.
“Kids with behavioral problems, we don’t know what they’re going home to or what’s going on there. Certain problems can develop, such as drug or alcohol addiction. So we try to support families.”
Uncle Dave is a respected leader in the community.Photo: Facebook / Young Spirit Mentoring Program
He does everything he can to help the youth in the community.Photo: YouTube / CORE Community Services
“Graduation to boyhood”
He added that although Young Spirit has mentored more than 16,000 children over the years, it struggles to obtain funding for its purpose.
“Certain organizations are receiving all the funding and we are struggling,” he said.
“We don’t have the resources. We can’t take them to the beach or the pool for a treat, which is disappointing.
“We have saved so many lives. Something as simple as offering a free breakfast or offering thread or support can make a huge difference.”
Uncle Dave appeared in a Spaniard video to further voice the issue of detention center locations.
“When you get up there, Raby Juvenile Hall is right there,” he said.
“What they have done is they have an elementary school, a public school, and a high school, and they graduate at Raybee.
“We’re here to make a difference. But resources aren’t going to the front lines.”
Spanien then walks to the detention center to see for himself, accompanied by local Jack Orkey, who has lived in the area since his birth.
The public school is on the left, and the detention center is on the right.Photo: YouTube/Spanian
“The only thing separating us is razor wire,” Jack said as they walked.
“Would an educated person put a boy next door to a public school? It’s like going straight to prison right out of school.”
Spaniard shows an elementary school from a detention center with a razor wire fence in the background.
“It’s as corrupt as they can see,” Spanien said.
According to the 2021 Census, only 8.5 people in Ayres’ total population completed a bachelor’s degree or higher to attend university, compared to 27.8% in New South Wales.
In Ayers, the unemployment rate was 13.7 percent, compared to a statewide unemployment rate of 4.9 percent.
The proportion of single-parent households was also higher in this region at 43.5%, compared to 15.8% in New South Wales as a whole.
bare supermarket shelves
When he visits local shops, he says, only a few are open and the streets are sparsely populated. “It feels like a prison,” he says.
The only supermarket in Ayres is the local IGA, but the shelves are completely empty and it appears to be preparing to close permanently.
They ask if they can buy cold drinks, but the cashier says, “We don’t order them.”
Walking through the store, the shelves are surprisingly empty, with only a few basic items left.
“This is really surprising. What’s going on?” Spanien asks.
According to local residents, this is due to the high number of robberies.Photo: YouTube/Spanian
“I can’t even drink alcohol. There’s nothing there.”
When a local asks why the shelves are exposed, he says, “There are too many robbers, so they’re being vandalized.”
Many people expressed shock and sadness in the comments on the video due to the harshness of the IGA.
“That supermarket is completely apocalyptic,” one person wrote.
“Looks like it’s closing for good. Doesn’t look like a real, open grocery store,” said another.
News.com.au has contacted IGA for comment.
The woman at the front counter said she had “not ordered” any items.Photo: YouTube/Spanian
gentrification
One of the big issues is the government’s gentrification of the area, which some locals fear will displace them and cause them to lose recognition of the place they grew up in.
Some feel that this process only glosses over some of the real problems and is not a fair or sustainable solution.
“When I get home and my hood is gone, I almost cry,” Jack told Spanien as he showed her his old neighborhood, which has now been replaced with a new home.
“My memory has disappeared, it has been erased.”
Spaniard roamed the outskirts of Ayres and Claymore.Photo: YouTube/Spanian
“You know what government is like. They kick everyone out, they get on board with things, they beat them down, they drive them out,” Spanien said.
A 36-year-old woman, who asked not to be named, told news.com.au that Ayres has “much improved” in recent years compared to when she was younger.
“It’s not as bad as it was before,” she said.
“Years before they started demolishing houses, the city was quiet.
“Growing up there, it was different. When I lived there, nine of the 17 houses on my little street burned down.
“It was common to have police on the streets. It was common for cars to be burned down.
“When we were little, there was a man who ran into the garden to hide, but my father yelled at him and he ran away. Then some police cars came down the street screaming. I did.”
She added that despite some challenges, there are also some great parts of growing up in Ayres that many people don’t know about.
The Juvenile Justice Center is located right next to the school.Photo: Google Maps
“In the area I grew up in, everyone was close,” she said.
“Mothers would go out and chat over coffee in the afternoon. Their children played together and every year they held a huge New Year’s party in the streets.”
A NSW Land and Housing Corporation spokesperson confirmed the suburbs of Ayres, Claymore and Bradbury were being “renewed”.
“We are renovating both Ayres and Claymore (as well as the suburbs between Bradbury),” they said.
A website detailing the project states: “Ayres Bradbury is planned to be a contemporary mixed community of approximately 2,100 modern homes.”
The document also states that up to 30 per cent of the area will be “reserved for social housing residents”, in stark contrast to the current 87 per cent.
Many people live next to abandoned houses.Photo: YouTube/Spanian
“Green spaces will be the hallmark of a revitalized suburb. New open spaces will be developed, including the Kevin Wheatley VC Memorial Stadium and a landscaped pond, and the surrounding 38 hectares of bushland will be regenerated.
“Senior housing is also a priority, with at least 52 units planned to be built near future parks, community facilities and public transport.
“The remaining new social housing will be modern detached homes to meet the needs of the Campbelltown area.
“The New South Wales Government has allocated $75 million in the 2020-21 Budget to fast-track the Ayres Bradbury project. Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2026, approximately 3.5 years earlier than originally anticipated. We expect it to be completed.”
jasmine.kazlauskas@news.com.au
