On a summer’s evening, 30 November 1976, a meeting was convened by Rev Bob Griffiths and Rev Lin Reilly at the City Congregational Church. The small gathering was attended by delegates from St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, the City Congregational Church , St Stephen’s Cathedral and the Wesley Central Mission who agreed to sponsor a new project entitled the “Brisbane Youth Service”. That meeting marked the beginning of Brisbane Youth Service, over 40 years ago. The new organisation in the early days had little or no funding, no premises and no paid staff but still managed to provide new futures for young people in Brisbane.
We were fortunate to find this type written, original meeting minute in our archives which forms an important part of our history – the genesis of Brisbane Youth Service.
Though no longer auspiced by the church, BYS is grateful to our founders for the foresight and vision which led them to establish this much needed service and to all those people who have supported BYS as workers, volunteers, Board members, donors and the many young people who have walked through our doors over the years.
This year in October, we will celebrate 40 years of continuous operation, supporting young people who are experiencing homelessness and disadvantage.
If you have been involved with BYS in the past 40 years and would like to help us celebrate our history, or have any old photos, documents or stories which you would be happy to share, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us at admin@brisyouth.org.