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Eddy's
Place
Wollongong
John Honner
dirercs@tpg.com.au
Eddy's Adolescent Services
Eddy's Adolescent Services
provides supported accommodation, care and education for young people in the Illawarra area. These services are sponsored by the Christian Brothers as part of their Edmund Outreach Services,
which work with youth, families and communities suffering from the effects of poverty and disadvantage in various parts of New South Wales and Australia.
Eddy's Adolescent Services
support the following programs in the Illawarra area
- Eddy's Place (supported Out of Home Care)
- Eddy's Annexe (an Alternate Education Project)
- Eddy's Ongoing Care Program (support for young people living in the community)
In 1987 an ordinary house on an ordinary street in Wollongong was renamed Eddy's Place, and
became a place where young people 12 to18 years old could find a supportive home-like environment to live.
The young people who come to Eddy's Place, or who are involved in other out of home care programs are, for various reasons, unable to
live in their own family situation.
At Eddy's Place, the residents are helped to work out an individual plan to begin to overcome the problems that have resulted in them being without the
support of an ordinary family.
The current range of programs includes assessment, residential care, community placement with an individual carer or family and support to live independently in the community. These options aim to assist a young person:
- To realise their own value as individuals and recognise the skills and abilities that each one has;
- To overcome any personal addictions to alcohol or other drugs;
- To resolve the grief and anger at the loss of, or separation from, their family;
- To learn to work with others in a constructive way;
- To learn how to budget, shop, cook and clean and generally manage the practical side of their lives;
- To develop a program to make good the gaps in their education, gaps often caused by frequent moves from one school to another.
"I would like to express my appreciation for your very able and professional assistance to '-----'. Your acceptance of '-------'
into Eddy's Place and the subsequent patience and support from your staff enabled a rather disturbed young person to find stability, security and peace within himself."
George Jereley, Assistant Manager
Shellharbour Community Services Centre,1995
Eddy's Annexe began in 1994, initially to provide residents of Eddy's
Place with the opportunity to participate in an individualised educational program appropriate to their needs.
Eddy's Annexe is now a formal annexe of Edmund Rice College in West
Wollongong, where students can gain a formal School Certificate if they wish. Eddy's Annexe is housed in the former Anglican parish buildings in
Corrimal. It accepts as students those young people who, for various reasons, have been excluded from mainstream schools.
- Some find the rules, regulations and timetable of a mainstream school unacceptable.
- Others have had clashes with teachers in mainstream classrooms and have been excluded.
- For some an unsettled family situation makes regular mainstream school attendance difficult.
- The curriculum in mainstream school is unsuitable for some.
- Others have moved house so often, they have missed out on the continuity needed to fully develop their skills in literacy and numeracy.
- Some young women may have young babies to care for.
- Some students attend Eddy's Annexe as part of a program arranged with them by the Department of Community Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice or other agencies.
At Eddy's Annexe students enter into contracts to improve their skills in literacy and numeracy. They are involved in other subjects seen as
appropriate to their own needs. Teachers work with students to plan individual programs to help them learn for themselves, and to learn to work with others. Eddy's Annexe is equipped with computers and other
educational aids, and the students make use of learning opportunities in the local community.
"My name is '----'. I have been to 6 different high schools in 2 states.
At all these I didn't last very long or didn't turn up very often. I was usually the worst student in the class. The trouble I was in was caused
by a fair bit of conflict at home, so in the end I chose to leave school and hang out on the streets. Eventually I was referred to Eddy's Annexe and started turning up because I enjoyed it. For just over a
year I have been coming regularly and am now studying for my Year 10 Certificate. This would surprise some of my old teachers. Next year I intend getting an apprenticeship in catering."
Student, 1998
Eddy's Ongoing Care Program tries to fill in the gaps that often exist in
the services provided by society for young people and their families.
When a young person feels ready to move on from Eddy's Place or Eddy's Annexe, there is often need for some initial support and assistance to be
reunited with their family, to gain a job, become involved in further education and find or set up a suitable place to live. Caring adults from both services
are available to support the young person for as long as they feel the need. Often when there is no other real family around, this support is much appreciated by the young people involved.
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