It has been a massive few weeks for our frontline warriors at Youth Projects as we introduced tighter measures to combat the virus and still managed to maintain our client-centered support model throughout all of this.   

During the rapidly evolving situation across the globe, we are incredibly proud of the tenacity and unyielding commitment that has remained constant. We were well ahead of the government imposed restrictions so that people experiencing homelessness could (and continue to) access the critical services they need down at The Living Room.

Since February, we've noticed a surge and increase in demand on our services. The team at Youth Projects has been swift to respond and our army of supporters continues to provide critical support to help us keep the cupboards stocked and the doors open. 

Amongst all of this, we want to share some of the incredible impact that we, as a community, have banded together to achieve. Since February we have:

• Secured over 6 pallet loads and 25 car loads of essential supplies, PPE, sanitizer, food and donations,
• Had over 1,500+ client visits to The Living Room,
• Shared 600+ care packs to people experiencing homelessness
• Distributed 120,000+ clean packs through our NSPs, 
• Helped 30 people get off the streets and into accommodation in partnership with other agencies
• Continued to support 250 young people in Transition to Work,
• Placed 2 young people into permanent housing,
• Placed 10 vulnerable young people with a disability into meaningful employment,
• Onboarded 4 young people into new community traineeships, and,
• Started to redesign Employability Skills Training (EST) to go 100% online.

"I am so very proud of our teams and am seeing the 1YP spirit well and truly alive during this time. We’ve always been good at responding to community needs, but this situation has proven that we are not just good, but GREAT at swiftly responding, adapting and evolving to whatever is thrown at us and the people we exist to support." reflects our CEO, Ben Vasiliou.

If all of that wasn’t enough, in the past two weeks we’ve received more than $75,000 in donations from across the community! These funds will be directed to support the increased client costs in the Living Room and to hire additional staff to keep this service open.As you can imagine, we are not immune to the current economic condition and the country and world slows down we are working around the clock to re-purpose and re-position our finances to ride this difficult wave. 

And so we will continue to soldier on, doing not what is easy, but what is right.

Check out the tips, tools and resources available to help you cope during the coronavirus crisis.