Our Impact

Alongside support from the Paul Ramsay Foundation, this grant supports BYSA’s core operations and capability development during a three-year pilot of their bold and unique youth-led model, ‘Youth HQ’.

The strong alignment between VFFF and BYSA’s missions was clear from the outset, with an emphasis on the assumption that young people are the experts in their own lives, and have the resilience, creativity and capability to design and lead solutions to issues that affect them.

BYSA makes this concept a reality by actively involving young people in their work, from strategic decisions to implementation. Young people use their lived experience to provide input about the language that describes them, the opportunities they need, and create their own definitions of success.

Established in 1988, BYSA spent 30-odd years delivering on annual government contracts with programs supporting young people in and around the Blacktown LGA. It became apparent that BYSA’s young people needed an approach that fit their lives and needs, rather than being required to fit their lives around a prescribed pathway to success, decided and designed by someone else.

Now, BYSA is an open door and a safe space for young people, in an environment where most services can only be accessed via appointment or referral, or once the young person is in crisis or has already been involved in the ‘system’. This means young people come to BYSA on their terms, and their needs are addressed immediately where possible.