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Posted Sep 06, 2023

BYS STATEMENT – VOICE TO PARLIAMENT

BYS STATEMENT – VOICE TO PARLIAMENT Message from our President Mark Wheatley and CEO Pam Barker At BYS, we are proud to support the Voice to Parliament. Since 1977, Brisbane Youth Service (BYS) has worked to create new futures for homeless and at-risk young people (aged 12-25 years) and their children. We meet young people […]

Posted Jul 20, 2023

Brisbane Community Takes Action to Address Youth Homelessness

Together, Brisbane Youth Service (BYS), Brisbane City Council (BCC), the Property Industry Foundation and generous corporate partners have turned a vacant house into a home for four young people experiencing homelessness. The property, made available through the BCC Community Housing Partnership Project, was generously furnished by five of the Foundation’s corporate sponsors, who donated items […]

Posted May 19, 2023

Courier Mail: What the New Housing Minister Must Do

BYS congratulates and welcomes our new Minister for Housing, the Honourable Meaghan Scanlon MP. Following the cabinet shake-up, BYS CEO Pam Barker shared her thoughts with the Courier Mail on the pressing priorities and potential solutions for the new housing minister. Minister Scanlon visited BYS late last year for a frank discussion about how to […]

9NEWS: BYS and Jacaranda Housing Partnership Creating Homes for Winter

More public housing is finally coming online in the South East to get struggling Queenslanders into a home, before winter sets in. But providers say there’s still no end in site and are calling on more emergency action. Watch the full story on 9NEWS:

Posted May 12, 2023

ABC News: For LGBTQIA+ young people, the housing market is even tighter

Eden feels safer on the street than a hostel, where they must identify as a man or woman for a bed. The non-binary 24-year-old has been sleeping in a Brisbane CBD shopfront since January. The city’s rental market is tighter than it has ever been – but for people who are gender diverse, the options are […]

ABC News: ‘Cascade effect’ pushing people into homelessness after rental prices, property scarcity hit records.

Posted Apr 06, 2023

COURIER MAIL: ‘Unprecedented’ spike in youth homelessness in Queensland

Advocates have pleaded with the state government to come up with a specialised solution for young homeless Queenslanders, who are being violently and sexually abused in crisis accommodation designed for adults. Young homeless Queenslanders are being sexually and violently assaulted in mixed-dorm crisis accommodation designed for adults as advocates flag an “unprecedented” spike in youth […]

Posted Apr 06, 2023

INQUEENSLAND: Queensland needs to do more to reduce the ranks of its homeless youth

The numbers of young people experiencing homelessness – some as young as 12 – are exploding in Queensland. Long term solutions are urgently needed, writes Pam Barker. Our youth workers do their best to keep young people safe, however, they are often forced to present the tough choice of sleeping rough or in […]

Posted Mar 25, 2023

ABC News: Children in Queensland’s foster and residential care system are living on the streets of Brisbane.

Hundreds of children under Queensland government care are in ‘other living arrangements’, for many that means homelessness Self-placing is the term the Queensland government use when a child under its care leaves a foster, kinship or residential care placement. Others use the term homeless. Where do self-placing children go? Pam Barker and her team at […]

Posted Mar 22, 2023

Q&A with Clinic GP, Dr Mairaed Crawford

Seven questions with Clinic GP, Dr Mairaed Crawford What do you do here at Brisbane Youth Service? I am one of the doctors (GPs) working in the BYS clinic. I see young people for all sorts of things – mental health issues, sexual and reproductive health, arranging immunisations and medications, reviewing complex medical conditions. […]

Posted Mar 22, 2023

Flood Damaged Youth Shelter Receives Brand New Vehicle

A year on from Brisbane’s devastating 2022 floods, young people living in one of Brisbane Youth Service’s transitional housing shelters are grateful to have access to a brand-new van, purchased through the Queensland Government’s Community Grant Program. House Manager Paul expressed his gratitude for this new vehicle, emphasising the significance of easily accessible transport for […]

Posted Feb 01, 2023

Q&A with Housing Services Senior Manager, Sarah Dybing

Seven questions with Housing Services Senior Manager, Sarah Dybing. What do you do here at Brisbane Youth Service? I work in the Housing Services team as the Senior Manager. The best part of your job? Working with an amazing team & hearing stories of young people kicking goals! How does the work […]