Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to Common Questions About StreetWork
Learn how StreetWork supports at-risk youth through mentoring, education & outreach.
Explore FAQs on our mission, impact & youth engagement programs.
What does Streetwork do?
Streetwork supports vulnerable young 12-18-year-olds to turn their lives around, using highly energising and innovative early intervention and assertive outreach programs: a youth work approach to Youth Case Work.
Why are Streetwork’s young people described as ‘at-risk’?
The majority of young people Streetwork supports are referred to us by parents, schools, police or courts. Typically, they present with a range of challenges that are often cascading: low self-esteem might be creating mental health issues, problems at home leading to couch-surfing, mixing with the wrong trice seeing drug or alcohol experimentation, or even flirtations with criminal activity. These situations and behaviours put their safety and even their young lives ‘at risk’.
WHAT DOES A STREETWORK YOUTH CASEWORKER DO?
A Streetwork Youth Caseworker acts as a mentor, providing advice and support both to address risk-taking behaviours, while taking any action that facilitates turning the young person’s life around.
They achieve this by first finding out what the young person is interested in and what they are good at, to help frame opportunities on which they can build a ‘connected’ relationship with the young person (interestingly, our young people often note this as a key point of difference, acknowledging that the Streetwork Youth Caseworkers show genuine empathy).
Through establishing trust and building rapport, the consequent conversations around goal-setting come more readily.
What is Streetwork’s aftercare Program?
Streetwork has never been a ‘cut-and-run’ charity. We pride ourselves in, wherever possible, maintaining communication with a young person long after they have ‘levelled up’ - our term for when they have achieved the goals they set for themselves with our youth caseworkers.
For the first 3 months after they have finished the core Streetwork mentoring support program, we structure regular catch-ups with them, just to ensure things are continuing to move along the right path. During this period, we encourage the young people to take the lead and book any meetings or activities with us themselves, as this is an important part in their journey of independence.
Thereafter, the door always remains open.
Why is Streetwork called Streetwork?
The answer to this stems right back to 1980 when our founder, Peter Hobbs, first established Streetwork. His innate belief that youth mentors should be openly accessible to young people remains as true to Streetwork’s fundamental ethos today as it did back then. Building on this is the context that the best youth case workers are trained and able to meet the young people where they are at: not in offices, but outside, in cafes and skate-parks, on basketball courts or beaches…on the streets. Hence the name street work: an origin of which we are proud and a founder of whom we are even more proud.
What are Streetwork’s Values?
Streetwork values diversity and respects the beliefs and rights of each individual. We are non-judgemental, builders of self-esteem, and nurture solid and respectful relationships with the youth in our program, our staff, supporters and volunteers. Streetwork values education alongside personal growth and is an active participant in the local community.
Streetwork promotes (re)engagement with learning pathways
Frequently Asked Questions – for potential supporters
A level of curiosity shows your potential supporter is engaged. This document provides some suggested answers to questions that are commonly asked by potential supporters.
Streetwork
Q. What suburbs does Streetwork cover?
A. Streetwork delivers service to young people living on the Northern Beaches, North Shore, Hornsby/Ku-ring-gai. We extend out to Rydalmere and on the beaches to Pittwater.
Q. What does Streetwork do?
A. We provide three services – community outreach, 1-1 goal based mentoring programs and police station advocacy
Q. What is unique about what Streetwork does?
A. We have used the same simple but effective methods for over 45 years – because they work
We go to where the young people hang out
We take the time to build trust
We walk alongside them, without judgement, for as long as it takes. We don’t offer fixed duration programs as every young person’s need and journey with us is different.
We connect them with the services they need - often bringing the services to them
They learn essential life skills so they can tackle problems more effectively in the future
Q. What goals do the young people set on the KickStart program?
A. The goals are chosen by the young person, tailored to their specific needs and addressing their risk factors. Goals might be dealing with court matters, getting off drugs or alcohol, reconnecting with family, getting back into education or finding a safe place to live.
Q. How many young people does Streetwork help every year?
A. We track all our activity and report it monthly to the Board. In an average year we will help around 360 young people. Iif we include all the young people we interact with through our community outreach activities the number is in the thousands.
For example In 2020
843 young people were engaged in our KickStart program
We held 2693 mentoring sessions
4686 mentoring hours
6400 hours advocating for young people in court or with the police
Q. Does what you do work?
A. Yes. 93% of the young people we support turn their lives around in a meaningful and sustainable way – with an increase in one or more of employability, life skills and health outcomes.
Q. How long have you been around?
A. Over 45 years – we were founded in 1980 by a local school teacher – Peter Hobbs.
Q. Where does your funding come from?
A. Our funding sources can vary significantly as we receive no recurrent funding. In 2025 about a third came from donations, a third from government grants and a third from other sources such events xx In 2021 government sources, which includes local, state and federal grants, provided just 13% of our overall funding.
For up to date, independent information take at look at the ACNC website https://www.acnc.gov.au/charity/charities/93fd3082-3aaf-e811-a961-000d3ad24182/profile
Volunteering
Q. I have a lot to offer a young person – can I mentor for you?
A. The young people we work with have a range of complex needs and so our mentors are all qualified youth workers who have the skills and knowledge to be effective. We do offer a 24 hr a day advocacy service which is provided by volunteers. If a young person finds themself in a police station and the adults in their life can’t or won’t attend, we provide an adult who can advocate on their behalf and support the young person. Once you have your Working With Children Check (WWCC) you'll receive some training before going on our roster.
Q. I don’t have regular time to give – are there still opportunities for me to help?
A. Yes. We often ask for help with specific events and tasks on our website and through Seek Volunteer.
Q. I don’t live in the area but would like to support you. Are there opportunities for me?
A. Yes. We sometimes need specific skills to help us with some of our office-based tasks. For example a project manager to help us plan a project or a graphic designer to help with some collateral.
Our young people / the need
Q. What sort of young people does Streetwork work with?
A. We work with vulnerable young people aged 12 to 18 who are challenged by risk taking behaviours: youth homelessness, school disengagement, youth crime, alcohol or substance misuse, mental health – suicidal thoughts and self-harm. Our young people are often facing several of these risk factors and have fallen through the cracks of other services.
Q. Surely there’s not much demand for this sort of thing on the North Shore
A. There is a high demand for entry into our programs on the North Shore. Sadly we have a wait list and are struggling to meet the demand.
Donations
Q. How much does it cost to put one young person through a KickStart Program?
A. The full cost of turning a young life around averages $15,000. $50 covers the cost of one mentoring session. Supporters can also fund an outreach program by covering the cost of barbeque sausages, art oor exercise classes.
Q. Are donations tax deductible
Yes – all donations over $2 are full tax deductible.
Breaking the cycle of school disengagement
Why do at-risk young people disengage from school?
One of the top five life goals our vulnerable young people set when they first start their Streetwork journey is to return to school and complete their education.
The reasons they disengage from their education in the first place vary. A common cause is that the young person's basic needs - sustenance, shelter, and emotional support - are not being met. It's difficult to attend school and concentrate in a classroom situation when you are hungry, sleeping rough, or just struggling emotionally because of a destructive family relationship or domestic violence situation.
IS EDUCATION IMPORTANT?
Absolutely! Education should be accessible to everyone. A positive experience at school develops self-identity, increases self-esteem, and nurtures a sense of security and belonging. Engagement in education also impacts a young person's life trajectory. It underpins their ability to find employment and achieve financial independence. As a safety net that guards against poverty, the benefits of education are intergenerational.
Many at-risk young people struggle at school - leaving without completing Year 12 and later failing to gain qualifications or work skills. Without support, they are often ill-equipped to thrive and provide for themselves and their families. One in eight young people will not complete their HSC. A further percentage of those make up the 15% of young people who will be disengaged from full-time work, study, or training for most of their lives.
Due to the impacts of a lifetime of dependence on government support and the costs incurred by the public health and criminal justice systems, the price paid by these young individuals, their families, and the Australian economy is high. A conservative estimate* associated with each early school leaver over their lifetime is $951,000*.
HOW DOES STREETWORK RE-ENGAGE YOUNG PEOPLE WITH THEIR EDUCATION?
Streetwork's success in helping young people re-engage with their education is two-pronged. On the one side, we work closely with the young people themselves on steady integration back into society, including setting goals for school attendance or employment pathways. From the other end, we continually build and nurture peer relationships with the schools themselves - including the principal, teachers and school welfare staff - as well as with the myriad of other support services that are interwoven with their journey back to education, including mental health counsellors, psychologists, and various other youth-centred and community support services.
* Source: Lamb and Huo calculation; includes financial and social costs