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When Emily* first came to Birribi, one of YSAS’ residential rehabilitation sites, she was deep in drug use, including ice and juice. This led to her family cutting off contact. “I ended up in really bad psychosis,” she says. “Then I tried coming off the juice and I ended…

Laura Slink’s journey to YSAS started almost by accident. While studying a Certificate IV in Youth Services, she happened to meet a YSAS worker named Ebony on New Year’s Eve.

“She was like, I’m so glad you’re getting into the field –  it’s a good place to work,” Laura…

When Nathan Todaro found out he was doing a placement at YSAS, he wasn’t sure how it would help his legal career.

“I didn’t really know what YSAS was, and I didn’t understand how it would work for a law placement,” he says. “But then I realised they needed…

Before Ric Haslam arrived at headspace Collingwood, the service hadn’t had a psychiatrist for a number of years. As a medical specialist there, he supports the service’s clinicians and the day-to-day work of supporting young people aged 12–25 with their mental health.

“My door is open, and clinicians will…

For a long time, Emily Coronel thought she’d stay in hospitality. As a single mother of three, the idea of finding a more meaningful career felt out of reach. “I just kind of fell into hospitality at a young age, but then I got over it,” she says. Eventually,…

Nathan Lambie’s office at YSAS Ringwood is covered from wall to ceiling with music posters. He used to work at a music station, so his taste is eclectic – he listens to everything from hip hop and R&B to heavy metal and rock. And it’s this musical knowledge…

In 2024, YSAS launched our Lived and Living Experience Workforce Framework. It has been designed to guide our efforts to develop and incorporate lived and living experience expertise as a formally recognised, applied and supported skill set within our workforce. The framework will enable us to create confidence…

Rose Deng knows how difficult it can be as a newly arrived refugee in Australia. At 6 years old, she came to Australia from Ethiopia via South Sudan, and says, “there weren’t a lot of people like me”. Growing up in Australia, Rose experienced challenges including bullying, discrimination and…