Sometimes media hurts

I'm a bit of a fan of the media competition (as regular readers would know).

I think that over and above the valuable work experience I gain from participating, the subject/challenge is usually a social cause that allows me to expand my knowledge about parts of society that I would usually be blind to.

Currently I am working on a piece to submit to APG Planning Idol.

The brief asks me to 'address' youth homelessness.

When I receive a brief from a client I typically immerse myself in the subject to try and gain an understanding of the world it operates in prior to coming up with a communications campaign that can solve some sort of problem. Needless to say, this is exactly what I've done with the APG Idol brief.

But.... it hurts.

One of the reasons I spent 12 months working as an Australian Youth Ambassador in Samoa was to give back. To do something a bit more altruistic than spend my rich client's money. This is also one of the reasons I enjoy answering competition briefs and giving my ideas away for free but for some reason, this brief is taking its toll.

I'm not clear why dealing with this issue is worse than having dealt with World Hunger or homelessness in general, but it is.

I think the underlying question I'm battling with at the moment is how I continue to 'help' without it wearing me down, because once I'm worn down, I'm of no help to anybody.