Caretakers Cottage
The former Caretakers Cottage building in Paddington, NSW
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| Motto | A Safe Place If You Are In A Crisis |
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| Predecessor | The Club |
| Founder | Laurie Matthews |
| Founded at | Paddington, NSW |
| Type | Non Government Organisation |
| 84 607 801 657 | |
| Location |
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| Coordinates | 33°53′35″S 151°15′27″E / 33.8930376°S 151.25762110000005°ECoordinates: 33°53′35″S 151°15′27″E / 33.8930376°S 151.25762110000005°E |
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Region
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South-Eastern Sydney |
| Services | Crisis accommodation and semi-independent accommodation for young people at risk of homelessness |
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Membership (1979)
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Yfoundations |
| Subsidiaries | Options Youth Housing |
| Website | www.caretakers.org.au |
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Formerly called
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Paddington Woollahra Youth Service |
Caretakers Cottage is an Australian non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Sydney assisting children and young adults facing homelessness. Caretakers Cottage is funded by the New South Wales Department of Family and Community Services to provide services for young people across Sydney's South-Eastern district. Services include short-term, emergency accommodation, semi-independent living options, case support and early intervention for young people at risk of homelessness.
The early formation of the organisation began in 1972 with the establishment of a teen drop-in centre. The refuge began informally accommodating young people from 1975, and Caretakers Cottage was formally established in 1977 as the Paddington Woollahra Youth Service (PWYS), making it one of the first youth refuges in New South Wales. The organisation has assisted thousands of young people from across Sydney, including many from Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, and an estimated one third of young people assisted are of Aboriginal heritage.
The roots of Caretakers Cottage begin in 1972 when Laurie Matthews and family founded a drop in centre for teens called "The Club." The centre was supported by just $40 a week, in collaboration with the Holdsworth Community Centre, helping to support youth in the Eastern Suburbs.
In 1975, the Matthews family begin to informally accommodate youth at a property owned by the Oxford Street Uniting Church in Paddington, where Laurie Matthews' father, Reverend Rex Matthews, served as a minister. The Matthews family lived in a home owned by the parish and the original refuge was in a smaller caretaker's cottage located on the premises, hence the refuge's present name. The refuge began as a place for young people coming from the country to stay while they found work and accommodation. Laurie Matthews first ran the refuge out of his own pocket, and after two years, it became one of the first youth refuges in New South Wales to receive funding from Department of Family and Community Services. After receiving government funding, the refuge then moved into the main house where the Matthews family had previously lived. In 1977, Caretakers began receiving funding from the New South Wales Department of Family Community Services (FaCS). During these early years, however, most of the funding for Caretakers Cottage came from the parish's Village Church centre. The refuge was run by Laurie and his wife Sara, who worked for little and often no pay. The organisation was incorporated that year under the name Paddington Woollahra Youth Service (PWYS). By 1980, the refuge had moved from the caretaker's cottage to the parsonage and Reverend Rex Matthews allowed the cottage to house an experiential program, funded by local council, allowing old people to live there independently, in the refuge's place.
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