For more than 30 years, Open Family Australia has been providing a range of Outreach services to young people experiencing high complex needs.
Our client group is young people aged between 12 and 25 who are disengaged from society. Over 80% of these young people are in this situation due to family break down or family conflict. This issue goes across all socio-economic groups and may result in homelessness, criminal activity, drug abuse, mental health problems and disengagement from school or employment.
Through our expertise and proven methodology we go to where young people are. We look in the hot spots such as railway stations, shopping centres, rooming houses and squats. We engage with young people to link them to services which can help them connect back into a supportive environment and a healthy community. This could include crisis support and services such as housing, health, drug and alcohol programs, family counselling, legal services, re-engagement back into school, and assisting young people to find suitable work.
We never judge, we never give up and we never turn away.
Open Family Australia is incorporated as a public company limited by guarantee and is governed by a Board of Directors. It is registered with the Australian Taxation Office as a Public Benevolent Institution and has Deductible Gift Recipient Status. For further information regarding the structure of our organisation, please click here.
To view Open Family Australia's endoresements please click on a link below:
Endorsement of Charity Tax Concessions
Endorsement of Deductible Gift Recipient Status
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. 
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.
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.
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