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Making a difference for young people

Our commitment to providing holistic care is central to producing effective outcomes for young people. Many of the clients seen by our Youth Services have experienced multiple, often complex problems which cannot be treated singularly or in isolation. To improve health and wellbeing in such circumstances often requires a long term commitment from our caregivers, utilising various support strategies and often linking in with other agencies and partner organisations.

Horizon House bedroomWhere possible we endeavour to engage in consultative process with young people, the community, other providers, and clients’ parents (where appropriate) to ensure that Youth Services are effectively meeting identified needs. We continue to monitor research to ensure that we have a clear understanding of the needs of young people’s health and wellbeing.

We believe that tackling the social determinants of health requires effective partnerships between agencies in the medical, social health, government, not-for-profit and corporate sectors and St John of God Health Care is committed to working in collaboration with all stakeholders to bring about positive outcomes for young people. In recent years we have developed strong partnerships, both locally and nationally, with external organisations and we remain keen to explore new relationships with organisations who can commit resources to improving Social Outreach and Advocacy Services for young people.

Measuring outcomes to ensure we meet the needs of young people
Every youth service operated by SJGHC has measurement tools in place to ensure that we monitor and evaluate the progress of our clients on an ongoing basis. Both quantitative and qualitative measures are recorded on a routine basis with goals set against realistic timelines specific to the individuals we support. Progress is discussed with our young clients as their care needs evolve and we benchmark against other service providers where possible to ensure that we are offering the best possible care.

All client information is kept confidential and our services are externally evaluated on a routine basis in order to maintain the highest standards possible.

Links to Youth Services    

Our Youth Services team

Funding Youth Services

Most of our Youth Services are funded through St John of God Health Care’s social justice budget. A set percentage of the organisation’s revenue is dedicated to this budget in order to run services that reach out to people experiencing disadvantage to improve health and wellbeing.

We also partner with other organisations, including state and national government bodies, in order to run youth services. In some instances government departments fund services operated by St John of God Health Care, for example DAWN Youth. In other instances we fund youth services within other organisations, for example funding a case worker for the Rise young women’s project in Midland, WA, and various headspace roles across Australia.

We are keen to forge partnerships with businesses, organisations and individuals who have an interest in improving the health and wellbeing of young people. If you would like more information on partnering with our Youth Services please contact Group Director of Social Outreach and Advocacy, Anne Russell-Brown: anne.russell-brown@sjog.org.au +61 8 6103 5654.