We’ve changed a lot since our first crisis refuge opened 40 years ago, but our commitment to helping vulnerable young people remains the same.
Taldumande is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘place of refuge’ and was established in 1976 as a not-for-profit organisation to care for Indigenous Australians. We opened one of the first crisis refuges in Australia, which was located in Neutral Bay and housed eight young people from around NSW.
In 1983, we opened a crisis refuge in Artarmon for four young people, which became a women’s only refuge in 1996 for those who had been sexually abused and experienced family breakdown. In 1998, this refuge relocated to a five-bedroom property in Crows Nest.
In partnership with North Shore Community Housing (now Link Housing) and a grant from NSW Family and Community Services, we opened four individual units and created our own housing program.
We secured an office in Neutral Bay, so we had space to train staff and focus on expanding our services. The Outreach Program, which supports young people who need accommodation, was implemented the following year.
Taldumande evolved to become a full wrap-around service, with a crisis refuge, shared housing and independent housing that delivered a streamlined pathway from homelessness to full independence. We also introduced our self-funded Intensive Family Support Program and Financial Assistance Program and became the only crisis refuge for young people in northern Sydney.
We established a fundraising committee and employed a fundraising coordinator to drive donations from individuals and organisations. These funds allow us to deliver community programs and continue to be an important source of financial support for Taldumande.
In 2014, the NSW Government implemented major funding reforms to the Specialist Homelessness Service industry. After a competitive tender process, Taldumande was awarded the only youth residential contract for northern Sydney. We grew from seven properties and 14 beds, to 23 properties and 60 beds. We also relocated our head office to North Sydney and opened a new office in Brookvale.
By 2015, Taldumande was a Tier 3 Housing Provider with 65 beds across 26 properties. We expanded our self-funded Intensive Family Support Program, to not only support families with young people at risk of homelessness, but also families of young people aged 11-18 who are in crisis and at risk of family breakdown.
