Melanie Power, CEO, Youth Projects Inc.
Youth Projects Inc is familiar to RCM members through its facilities in Hosier Lane, Melbourne, from which it offers a range of services to the homeless and transient population of the CBD. The age profile of its CBD clients is significantly older than the 12 – 26 year age range of its core operations in the north-western suburbs of Melbourne, where the organization originated in the 1980s and where it has its head office in Glenroy.
Youth Projects Inc aims to provide a wrap-around model of support for its multi-need clients, including mental health and addiction counselling, HIV prevention, return-to-school support and training.
The Night Nurse outreach service in the Melbourne CBD is the only program of its type in Australia. Each Night Nurse patrol comprises two mature and experienced nurses, at least one of whom is specifically trained in Emergency Department nursing and at least one in Mental Health nursing.
During the coming Christmas-New Year period, Youth Projects Inc expects to see twice the normal number of clients, since this traditional family period is one which reminds dislocated people of the reasons why they are in their current situation and of the loneliness, depression or ill health which they experiencing.
Presentation by the club;
Prior to her talk, Melanie Raymond was presented with a cheque for $3,500 by President Frank, Fundraising Leader Herb Greenwood and Peter Duras. That donation, funded from the recent Gala Charity Auction, will be used to purchase a spirometer and accessories for use in the Hosier Lane facility to diagnose respiratory diseases in Youth Projects clients.
President Frank also announced that the Club would be donating $2,500 for the Night Nurse program over Christmas-New Year. However, handing over of that donation was being delayed slightly in the hope that a D9800 Foundation matching grant could be obtained to increase the total available to the Night Nurse program.