Charities » Teenagers

Youth Off The Streets supports chronically homeless and drug addicted young Australians as they work to turn their lives around.

Youth Off The Streets is a community organisation working for young people who are chronically homeless, drug dependent and recovering from abuse. We support these young people as they work to turn their lives around and overcome immense personal traumas such as neglect and physical, psychological and emotional abuse.  
Since opening in 1991, Youth Off The Streets has grown from a single foodvan delivering meals to young homeless people on the streets of Kings Cross to a major youth specific agency providing a wide range of services offering a full continuum of care.  
 
We provide crisis care for young people still living on the streets with our food van, youth refuge and outreach programs. We also operate an innovative drug and alcohol program specifically designed for young people. Our accredited independent high schools in Surry Hills, the Southern Highlands and Merrylands, provide flexible educational opportunities and support for young people living on the streets or who are unable to attend mainstream high schools. Many of these young people go on to successfully achieve their School Certificate and, in increasing numbers, their Higher School Certificate.  
 
Our medium to long term residential rehabilitation programs, located in the Southern Highlands and the Hunter Valley, provide support for young people who have made the commitment to living a drug and crime free lifestyle. While they are in our care the young people attend school as well as receive counselling, life skills and vocational training.  
 
Once they feel ready to leave the residential programs we offer a semi-independent living and mentoring program which is designed to help young people engage in further study or to find meaningful employment. We support both the employer and the young person through their first year of working together. 
 
More than a decade of experience has taught us that education is the most effective way to break the cycles of abuse that can trap young people. Our new ASPIRE program delivers innovative drug prevention and early intervention strategies as well as ‘time out’ programs to young people at risk of becoming disconnected from mainstream education. This program as well as our GetReel drug education competition and curriculum and our Values Education YOUth Making a Difference resource is now available to schools across Australia. 
 
We are very honoured to have as our patrons, the former Governor General of Australia, Sir William Deane and Lady Helen Deane. 
 
YOUTH OFF THE STREETS – AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 
 
Youth Off The Streets is a youth-specific charity based in New South Wales, assisting young people deal with issues of substance and other abuse, alienation from family and community and homelessness. We offer a continuum of care from assistance on the streets; crisis and short term accommodation to long term residential care, treatment and secondary schooling. We accept non-paying youth into our facilities and we offer our services on a fee-paying basis to government agencies. 
 


Teenagers Melbourne Victoria: http://www.youthoffthestreets.com.au