St Laurence House Incorporated

Christ Church St Laurence, St James King Street, other parishes of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney and the NSW Department of Community Services

St Laurence House for Homeless Youth

St Laurence House Incorporated has provided care, support and accommodation for homeless young people in Sydney since 1978.

The young people helped, teenagers and young adults, are people who for various reasons are unable to live with their families, or have suffered deprivation, neglect, or abuse of some kind. Some are at risk of substance abuse and anti-social patterns of life.

The aim of St Laurence House is not only to provide accommodation for otherwise homeless young people, but also to equip them with the personal, social, and living skills which they have often failed to develop because of their particular histories. They are enabled to build trusting relationships once more, to realize their potential to the full, and to plan and make decisions for their own future.

Funding

St Laurence House is supported by the NSW Department of Community Services, the profits of the St Laurence House Opportunity Shop, the parishes of Christ Church St Laurence, St James King Street, and others, and by other private donations and material assistance.

There is a calendar of fund-raising social events, up-to-date details of which are to be found on this website.

Donations to St Laurence House of $2 or more are tax-deductible. If you would like to donate to the work of the House, please contact the Treasurer concerning amounts over $100.

St Laurence House Opportunity Shop

The St Laurence House Opportunity Shop at 263 Broadway is professionally managed and staffed by volunteers. It sells a variety of second-hand clothes and household goods, of reasonable quality. All its profits go to support the work of St Laurence House.

If you would like to offer assistance, either by donating goods (which the shop staff can transport for you), or by volunteering to work a few hours a week in the shop, please contact the Shop Manager.

The Board of Management

The board of Management, consisting of the Co-ordinator of St Laurence House, the manager of the Opportunity Shop, a Treasurer, representatives of Christ Church St Laurence and St James' King Street, and others, meets once a month to govern and review the work of the House, to take responsibility for financial, legal, and administrative affairs.

The principal components of the St Laurence House programme are:

Living skills - managing money, cooking, domestic chores, hygiene and personal development.
Social skills - communication, peer relationships, group living, conflict resolution, assertiveness, and taking responsibility for one's actions.
Education - attendance at school, job training, work experience; in-house education on nutrition, safe-sex, drug and alcohol use, HIV/AIDS, and sexuality.
Support - counselling and one-one support are provided through the House, and referrals are made to outside agencies when required.
Recreation - productive use of leisure, outings and excursions, sport, literature, arts and crafts, music.
Ongoing care - is given to former residents in the form of practical living assistance, references, and regular or ad hoc appointments with staff.

St Laurence House runs one fully-supported house in Kingsford, and two semi-supported houses in Mascot.

The fully supported house is staffed 24 hours a day by the five staff who collectively have broad professional knowledge and experience with adolescent issues and residential care. They are responsible for the everyday management of the house, ensuring that it is a safe and friendly environment , and are available at all times for the young people in residence.

The two semi-supported houses, in Mascot, are for young people with the skills to live independently, who however continue to benefit from the support of the St Laurence House staff in a number of ways.

Success

St Laurence House assists from twenty to thirty young people each year. Often the young people who have developed life-skills during their time in the fully-supported house will then move to one of the two semi-independent houses.

Many residents, because of strong positive experiences of St Laurence House, stay in contact with the House for several years after leaving, and this contact is valued both by the staff and the former residents themselves.