St John's Youth Services - turning lives around

St John’s Youth Services does more than provide homeless young people with a roof over their heads. It connects young people to communities, and to opportunities that enable them to turn their lives around.

Since its establishment in 1982, St John’s Youth Services has provided shelter, support and a brighter future for more than 9000 young people and almost 1000 small dependent children. Over that time, it has transformed from a small service running a six-room lodge with shared facilities, to an award winning and internationally recognised service operating individual apartment based accommodation for young people in crisis.

While the old ‘shelter’ model of accommodation provided physical shelter for homeless young people, it didn’t break the cycle of homelessness which led so many young people to return to the shelters again and again. It was clear that young people needed to be educated and empowered to take charge of their own lives and to make positive choices for themselves if the cycle was to be broken.

In response to this need, St John’s Youth Services has established a range of support services for SA’s most disadvantaged young people. These include: youth110, a world first model of apartment-based emergency accommodation; Ladder SVS, South Australia’s first Foyer accommodation service, which provides a home, education and employment opportunities and assistance to break the cycle of homelessness; and Next Step, a dedicated outreach service to support young people leaving the accommodation services.

These innovative programs ensure that the most disadvantaged young people in our community have access to the sorts of opportunities most of us take for granted. Young people are housed and supported in a way which gives them dignity and agency, and ensures that they leave the service equipped to live independently and to make positive choices for the future.