The Melbourne Chatterbox operates three nights a week in Melbourne's CBD and inner suburbs. The service is manned by a team of volunteers headed up by Open Family Australia's Volunteer Coordinator and Chatterbox Volunteer Committee. The service has been operational in Melbourne since 2002 and is proudly supported by Cabrini Health, the Tattersalls Foundation and PFD Foods.
Chatterbox provides a variety of services to street frequenting young people, linking them to the services they require as well as providing basic material aid in food, clothing and health supplies. There is also wireless internet facilities, computers and a separate space to enable volunteers to quietly counsel and engage with young people. Many of the young people are attracted to the Melbourne CBD as it is a focal point for entertainment and a means to escape their problems. Problems include family breakdown, unemployment, drug and alcohol use and abuse. Young people may be involved in commercial sex work, struggling with drug issues, sleeping rough and/or in constant need of food or material aid.
Through this service, Open Family Australia is able to participate in a series of trials and research including a focus on public space issues for street frequenting young people. Chatterbox is a vital link between Open Family Australia and young people who frequent the streets after hours. The volunteers are the backbone of the bus, and it is their commitment that makes this service so successful. Funding is important to ensure that this service continues to operate, and with more funding Open Family Australia could extend the service over more nights and into other inner city regions.
To find out how your donation could assist this service, please contact Open Family Australia's marketing team on 1 300 669 600.
To find out how to volunteer for this service, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator on 1 300 669 600 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Mum and I were fighting all the time and it wasn’t a happy place for me anymore. I had told Mum that one of her relatives had sexually abused me. I don’t know why but she didn’t believe me. I think that is what hurt me the most – I’m her daughter and she is supposed to protect me but when I finally got up the courage to tell her what had been going on, she turned her back on me.
In 2007, Open Family Australia secured funding through the Property Industry Foundation for the refurbishment and fit out for a mobile youth outreach service for Sydney. Recognising that Sydney's CBD is well catered for by other agencies, Open Family Australia decided to launch this service into Sydney's western suburbs, frequenting hot spots in the Warwick Farm, Liverpool and Fairfield regions. 
Our recycled boutique stocks a large range of quality women's, men's and children's clothing and accessories as well as books and bric 'a' brac.
Open Family Australia works in Victoria and NSW, providing Outreach support to young people at risk in these communities. 
Assertive Outreach is a model that offers youth focused services to street frequenting young people in the environments where they congregate. This model of providing comprehensive ongoing support in all aspects of a young person’s life, rather than just concentrating on one issue is successful, as it provides the young person with support from a worker who is available for all their needs and who also works to integrate them into mainstream society.
