Caretakers Cottage is an Australian non-profit,

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

based in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

assisting children and young adults facing homelessness. Caretakers Cottage is funded by the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Department of Family and Community Services to provide services for young people across Sydney's South-Eastern district. Services include short-term, emergency accommodation, semi-independent living options, case support and early intervention for young people at risk of homelessness.Rapana, Jessica. "Smoking Ceremony for Homeless Program." ''Wentworth Courier''. Fairfax Media. 20 May 2015. The early formation of the organisation began in 1972 with the establishment of a teen drop-in centre. The refuge began informally accommodating young people from 1975, and Caretakers Cottage was formally established in 1977 as the Paddington Woollahra Youth Service (PWYS), making it one of the first youth refuges in New South Wales. The organisation has assisted thousands of young people from across Sydney, including many from Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, and an estimated one third of young people assisted are of Aboriginal heritage.

History

1972: The Club

The roots of Caretakers Cottage begin in 1972 when Laurie Matthews and family founded a drop in centre for teens called "The Club." The centre was supported by just $40 a week, in collaboration with the Holdsworth Community Centre, helping to support youth in the Eastern Suburbs."Our History."
''Our History''. Caretakers Cottage. Accessed 3 March 2016.

1975–1977: Informal accommodation and later founding

In 1975, the Matthews family begin to informally accommodate youth at a property owned by the

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...

Uniting Church in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

, where Laurie Matthews' father, Reverend Rex Matthews, served as a minister."Gwenneth Matthews Notice."
''Sydney Morning Herald''. 14 October 2014. Accessed 10 June 2015.Berryman, Nancy. "Reverend Rex Battling On." ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. 2 November 1980. Fairfax Media. The Matthews family lived in a home owned by the parish and the original refuge was in a smaller caretaker's cottage located on the premises, hence the refuge's present name. The refuge began as a place for young people coming from the country to stay while they found work and accommodation. Laurie Matthews first ran the refuge out of his own pocket, and after two years, it became one of the first youth refuges in New South Wales to receive funding from Department of Family and Community Services. After receiving government funding, the refuge then moved into the main house where the Matthews family had previously lived.Howe, Megan. "Paddington Youth Refuge Faces The Threat Of Eviction." ''Sydney Morning Herald''. Fairfax Media. 10 November 1988. In 1977, Caretakers began receiving funding from the New South Wales Department of Family Community Services (FaCS). During these early years, however, most of the funding for Caretakers Cottage came from the parish's Village Church centre. The refuge was run by Laurie and his wife Sara, who worked for little and often no pay.Berryman, Nancy
"Couple Run a Refuge for Teenagers."
''The Sun Herald''. 29 July 1979 The organisation was incorporated that year under the name Paddington Woollahra Youth Service (PWYS). By 1980, the refuge had moved from the caretaker's cottage to the parsonage and Reverend Rex Matthews allowed the cottage to house an experiential program, funded by local council, allowing old people to live there independently, in the refuge's place. Through its informal start and subsequent founding, Caretakers founded one of the first youth refuges in New South Wales. Other early refuges include Young People's Refuge (now an all-female refuge), founded in 1975, and Taldumande Youth Refuge (originally intended as an organisation to care for indigenous Australians), founded in 1976.

Eastern House

According to a work ''History of Caretakers'' written by youth workers Peter Matthews, D. Maler, M. Fulford, & D. Coulter, in 1984, the Caretakers Cottage youth refuge in Paddington was linked to a volunteer "extended family group" at Eastern House, which was next door to the refuge. The members of the family were two parents (Reverend Rex Matthews & his wife Gwenneth Matthews), a 15-year-old sister, 18-year-old brother and a female and male university student.

Move to Surry Hills

After 15 years of the organisation being centered in Paddington, Caretakers Cottage moved to

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surround ...

. The move was preceded by an eviction notice from the Uniting Church who owned the property housing the Caretakers Cottage youth refuge. The New South Wales Department of Housing provided funding for the organisation to purchase a new property, however, the organisation was forced to leave Paddington as a result of the shortage of large family homes available for sale in the area.

Move to Bondi

Caretakers Cottage moved from Surry Hills to Bondi, where it is currently headquartered. In 2014, the Caretakers Crisis Refuge in Bondi underwent renovations and received the support of Gumtree Roadshow, a

corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethicall ...

project by Gumtree Australia, having stylists assist in the refurnishing and redecorating.

30 Year celebration

On Tuesday, 23 October 2007, Caretakers Cottage celebrated 30 years since the founding of the youth refuge. In attendance were Mr.

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

, Member for Wentworth, and Ms.

Sylvia Hale Sylvia Phyllis Hale (born 12 July 1942) is an Australian social justice, community and environmental campaigner, and a former politician. She was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 2003 to 2010 for the Greens. Personal l ...

of the NSW Greens Party.

Going Home Staying Home Launch

On 15 May 2015, Caretakers Cottage formally launched their comprehensive program following the "Going Home Staying Home" reforms. The new program partnered Caretakers Cottage services and Ted Noffs Foundation. The event was attended by

Brad Hazzard Bradley Ronald "Brad" Hazzard (born 30 August 1951), an Australian politician, has been the New South Wales Minister for Health since January 2017 in the Berejiklian and Perrottet ministries. Hazzard is a member of the New South Wales Legisla ...

, NSW Minister for Family and Community Services,

Gabrielle Upton Gabrielle Cecelia Upton (born 16 December 1964), an Australian politician, is the member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing the seat of Vaucluse for the Liberal Party since 2011. Upton is currently serving as the Parlia ...

, NSW Attorney General, and Sally Betts, Mayor of Waverley.

Programs and services

Case management

Caretakers Cottage is a Specialist Homeless Service that provides case management in addition to providing accommodation.

Partnerships

Caretakers Cottage partners with the Ted Noffs Foundation. The partnership commenced as a response to the New South Wales Government "Going Home Staying Home" reforms, first initiated under then Minister for Family and Community Services (FaCS),

Pru Goward Prudence Jane "Pru" Goward (born 2 September 1952) is a former Australian politician and was a Liberal member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2007 to 2019, representing the seat of Goulburn. She was the New South Wales Minis ...

."Specialist Homelessness Services Going Home Staying Home South Eastern Sydney District."
''Fact Sheet October 2014''. New South Wales Department of Family and Community Services. October 2014. Caretakers Cottage and Ted Noffs jointly tendered for a multi-purpose youth homelessness funding under the Going Home Staying Home reforms. The partnership allowed for the full implementation of the reform along with the elements of previous tenders. The partnership has enabled Ted Noffs to provide crisis accommodation with the added focus of drug & alcohol and lifestyle issues.

Memberships

Caretakers Cottage is a member of Yfoundations, a peak body organisation on youth homelessness. Caretakers Cottage and seventeen other youth homelessness services helped found Yfoundations in 1979. The organisation was initially called Youth Refuge Action Group (YRAG), and changed its name several times over the years, including YRA, YRAA, YAA, and presently, Yfoundations.Coffey, Michael. "What Ever Happened to the (R)evolution?: Take 2 Revisiting Activism and the Early Days of Youth Refuges in NSW." ''Undercurrent'' No. 1. (2008): 5-12. Caretakers Cottage is a member of th
Association of Children's Welfare Agencies
a peak body organisation founded in 1958.

People

Laurie Matthews

Laurie Matthews serves as CEO of Caretakers Cottage a youth homelessness service in

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

. Laurie also serves on the board of

Southern Youth and Family Services Southern Youth and Family Services (SYFS) is a non-profit organisation which operates a number of youth homelessness programs in regional New South Wales, Australia. Among the organisation's program is a crisis youth refuge in Wollongong, a youth ...

, a service based in

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near w ...

. Laurie has also served on the board of Yfoundations for a number of years between 1989 and 2011. Laurie, together with his wife Sara Matthews, founded the Caretakers Cottage youth refuge in 1977.Karp, Paul and Michael Saf
"How Sydney's overheated housing market keeps young people on the streets."
''The Guardian''. Saturday 13 February 2016. At the time, funding for the refuge came from the parish's Village Church centre, however, Laurie and Sara ran the refuge for little and often no pay. In the 1980s, Laurie had established an accommodation referral service, "Phone-A-Home," utilizing a computerized system of shared accommodation options in the local area. The project allowed callers to seek accommodation while filtering for particular preferences such as "non-smokers, vegetarians, same musical interests." In 2015, Laurie Matthews was awarded with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Youth Action, a peak body organisation for young people and youth services in New South Wales.

Publications

*
#HomelessKidsMatter: Youth Refuge Directory
' – A directory of all New South Wales Specialist Homelessness Services providing crisis accommodation for young people under the age of 18. *
Your Move: Housing Choices for Young People
' – A comprehensive guide to housing options for young people living in New South Wales.

References

External links

Caretakers Cottage official website
{{Homelessness in Australia Homelessness in Australia Non-profit organisations based in New South Wales Organisations based in Sydney Organizations established in 1977 Homelessness organizations Uniting Church in Australia Paddington, New South Wales