Armidale Youth Refuge Incorporated

Hansard & Papers » Legislative Assembly » 26 November 2008 » Full Day Hansard Transcript » Item 42 of 50 »
Armidale Youth Refuge Incorporated
About this Item
Speakers - Torbay Mr Richard
Business - Private Members Statements, PRIV
ARMIDALE YOUTH REFUGE INCORPORATED
Page: 11885

Mr RICHARD TORBAY (Northern Tablelands—Speaker) [6.21 p.m.]: The release of the Wood report into the welfare of children in New South Wales has prompted a lot of discussion and has brought into sharper focus the issue of young people who are abused, neglected and/or homeless in this State. On the whole it is left to public and private agencies to pick up the slack when parents have neglected their responsibilities or their children have run off the rails. How effectively these agencies manage, and whether they are sufficiently funded to supply the best possible service is, quite rightly, a hot topic at present.

Today I bring to the attention of the House the disparity of funding between metropolitan and regional youth refuges in New South Wales. In particular I mention the Armidale Youth Refuge Incorporated that I visited this week. The managers and staff of that refuge are being asked to run two services on the budget for one service. They estimate a shortfall of $75,000 per annum and are finding it difficult to meet the demands of running both the refuge and an outreach service to fund and support housing for homeless youth. Something has to give: the staff and the budget are stretched to the limit. In my opinion both services are essential and I ask the Minister for Community Services to revisit this issue.

The Armidale Youth Refuge is expertly run. It feels like a home. The staff are warm, friendly and helpful. The buildings and grounds are immaculate, and with a mix of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff it is catering for a growing number of young people who need its services. The refuge provides supported accommodation programs in Armidale, Glen Innes, Inverell and Tenterfield. It is also responsible for family and youth support services, out-of-home care and Juvenile Justice programs in those areas. Paradoxically in Armidale, where demand is the greatest, the funding shortfall is also the greatest. It is difficult to understand the logic behind driving a successful enterprise into the ground by increasing the number of services it needs to deliver but not matching that with adequate funding.

Alan Brennan, the General Manager of the Armidale Youth Refuge Incorporated, told me that the service includes recreational and cultural camps that encourage young people to participate in community activities such as youth festivals and social events. Positively re-engaging young people with their communities and with their educational opportunities is the most valuable service these agencies can perform. Those who remain permanently disengaged fill our jails, hospitals, doctors surgeries and rehabilitation institutions. In the past 12 months the Armidale Youth Refuge provided in-house accommodation for 25 young people. As part of its Supported Accommodation Outreach Services to the regional towns of Inverell, Glen Innes, Tenterfield and Armidale the organisation supported another 159 young people living independently in the community in public housing or through the private rental market.

The Armidale Youth Refuge employs 42 staff, which is the equivalent of 17 full-time positions. The refuge operates on a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week basis. In excess of 50 per cent of its clients are from the Aboriginal community, and a quarter of the staff are also Aboriginal. The organisation has maintained an indigenous staffing rate in excess of 25 per cent for the past three years. During the past six years, the refuge and outreach service, known as ADYSS, has become increasingly dependent on external fee-for-service contracts with other government agencies to remain financially viable. The shortfall in the ADYSS budget was $50,000 to the year ended 2007, and rose to $81,078 at the end of June this year. As a non-profit organisation it is difficult to generate income to address this deficit, particularly as any income that is generated needs to be directed to assist families, children and young people. To generate income to cover a shortfall of $60,000 the refuge would have to procure more than $400,000 in funding from other government agencies—a difficult task.

In 2005 the Youth Accommodation Association of New South Wales conducted a viability audit of all youth refuges in New South Wales and found that the Government should increase its funding by an overall 15 per cent. It also found a disparity in funding between metropolitan and regional refuges which, given their equal responsibilities and demand, does not make much sense. I ask the Minister to consider meeting the funding shortfall at the Armidale Youth Refuge to guarantee it can continue to deliver the services required of it, to bring parity of government funding to all youth refuges in the State, and to ensure that they are properly funded to meet the growing demand for their services.