Youth Off The Streets

Fr Chris Riley’s Youth Off The Streets

Youth Off The Streets is helping disconnected young people to discover greatness within, by engaging, supporting & providing opportunities to encourage & facilitate positive life choices.

Youth Off The Streets is a community organisation working for young people aged 12-21 who are facing challenges of homelessness, drug dependency, exclusion from school, neglect and abuse.  We now provide over 20 services to support these young people as they work to turn their lives around.  It is our goal that these young people will leave our care drug-free, with a high school education, living skills and a full or part time job in hand.

Since opening in 1991, Youth Off The Streets has grown from a single food van 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 can, 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 who are either living on the streets or  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 young people are ready to leave our residential programs, we offer mentoring programs designed to help young people achieve independent living skills while engaging in further study or meaningful employment.  We also provide an Aftercare and Integration service to support young people who have left our services as they make the transition to living independently.

Our Youth Off The Streets Aboriginal Services program responds to the specific needs of Indigenous young Australians and the high levels of disadvantage they experience.

Recognising the value of early intervention, we have established a Scholarship program to help talented yet disadvantaged young people to pursue their dreams.  We have also developed a range of early prevention resources for schools and youth groups, including the GetReel drug and alcohol education kit, and YOUTH Making a Difference, which encourages young people to develop positive values and put them into action in their own communities.

We are very honoured to have the former Governor General of Australia, Sir William Deane and Lady Helen Deane as our patrons.

If you would like to find out more about Youth Off The Streets and the range of programs and services we provide please visit our website: www.youthoffthestreets.com.au   or contact our Development Office:

Ph: 02 8332 5000

Email: info@youthoffthestreets,com.au 

Mail: PO Box 6025, ALEXANDRIA NSW  2015

Click HERE to make a donation to Youth Off The Streets