Brisbane Youth Service (BYS) has been working with homeless and vulnerable young people (aged 12-25 years) and young families in Brisbane and the surrounding areas since 1977.

What the service entails

They provide housing, physical and mental health services and specialist programmes for young women and young families. Aiming to help people overcome challenges and achieve their life goals, all services are provided free of charge.

BYS uses a client-centred, strengths-based practice approach when working with young people. They support each person to identify their goals and holistically address the range of challenges they face. Even with brief support from BYS, most young people are able to move out of crisis.

They are recognised as a respected leader in the community services industry. Through their research and evaluation program, BYS improves outcomes for young people and raises awareness of issues impacting vulnerable young people in the community.

The statistics 

Homelessness

• 4,454 people aged 12-24 are homeless in Queensland on any given night (2016 Census)
• The total homelessness rate rose 68% in Brisbane’s Inner City from 2011 – 2016 (2016 Census)

Young people BYS assisted in 2017/18

• 1,355 young people accessed ongoing support from BYS (up 7%)
• 3,1980 occasions of support (up 18%)
• 1,505 people supported through casual contact, e.g. phone triage or street outreach (up 25%)
• 56% female, 41% male, 4% identified as a gender that was not male or female
• 28% identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
• 10% were culturally and linguistically diverse
• 150 children under 12 years were supported

Around 14% of young people tell BYS that they have poor or very poor physical health, while 65% report improvements in their physical health after support from BYS.

Brisbane Youth Services dental clinic

BYS offers week-long ‘pop up’ dental clinics at their Fortitude Valley HUB four times per year. The clinics are run at the BYS Hub 42 McLachlan St Fortitude Valley and the service is completely free of charge with no Medicare Card required. To attend the dental clinic a young person can self-refer by calling BYS directly or a worker can call on their behalf.

Treatments provided include free check-ups, cleans, fillings and oral health advice, in a friendly and comfortable environment.

Individuals who have attended appointments at the BYS dental clinics previously are welcome to book again. More complex dental work has to be followed up elsewhere but the volunteer dental staff can give advice on these options.

The programme has been developed in partnership with the University of Queensland’s School of Dentistry, with support from the Cecilia Kilkeary Foundation and Colgate. The programme is completely staffed by volunteer dental health professionals.

In 2017/18, 53 young people were provided with dental care through the programme, some of whom received multiple appointments.

“Our heartfelt thanks go to all the dental professionals who have volunteered and delivered these treatments.” – Brisbane Youth Service

If you would like to get in touch and provide support to the team at Brisbane Youth Service, you can contact them at admin@brisyouth.org.

If you would like to find out more about the charities and volunteer groups we work with, you can view these on our Charities page.