Coast Shelter

Coast Shelter (registered as Central Coast Emergency Accommodation Services Ltd.)[1] is a non-profit organisation supporting homeless young people, adults and women and children experiencing domestic & family violence in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Coast Shelter is the largest regional Specialist Homelessness Service in NSW and provides a range of accommodation and other services to those experiencing hardship in the local community.

Coast Shelter

Central Coast Emergency Accommodation Services Ltd.[1]
Predecessor	Rumbalara Youth Refuge
Formation	1992
Tax ID no.	ABN 46 095 999 287[1]
Headquarters	Gosford
Region	Central Coast, New South Wales
Services	Accommodation and support for people experiencing homelessness or domestic & family violence
CEO	Rachel Willis
Budget	Revenue of $1 million or more[1]
Website	coastshelter.org.au
Formerly called	Gosford Emergency Accommodation Services

The organisation was founded in 1992 as Gosford Emergency Accommodation Services. The service's predecessor was the Rumbalara Youth Refuge established by Gosford City Council in 1985.[2][3] Since its founding, the organisation has assisted over 16,000 individuals.[4]

The CEO of Coast Shelter is Rachel Willis, who took over the role from Laurie Maher following his retirement in July 2018.[5] Maher had been the CEO since he founded the organisation in 1992.[6][7]

History

Coast Shelter started operations from the site of the Rumbalara Youth Refuge in Gosford, New South Wales. Rumbalara was built by Gosford City Council in 1985[8] and had a dual purpose: four beds were for homeless youth and two beds were for students who were able to return home on weekends. Council also ran a service for homeless adults in a separate council property. In December 1991, funding cuts led the council to close the service, however Laurie Maher approached Jim Grainger of the Catholic Church's Centacare Broken Bay to take over operation of the site. The move was approved by the New South Wales Department of Family and Community Services. In 1992, Maher established the new organisation, Gosford Emergency Accommodation Services.

Over the years the organisation auspiced other crisis accommodation services in the Central Coast region and were commissioned to run additional services. Today, Coast Shelter operates nine crisis accommodation services, a community centre and community restaurant, and provides other forms of support for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness or domestic & family violence.[2][9]

The NSW Government's "Going Home Staying Home" reforms in 2014-15 dramatically altered the funding and operation of crisis accommodation services across the State and led to significant changes within the organisation.[8] Ultimately, Coast Shelter secured the management of the majority of its sites along with additional crisis accommodation services in the region.[10]

Refuges

Refuges operated by Coast Shelter

Name	City	Service description	Service group	Year founded
Coimba Men's Refuge[11]	Gosford	crisis accommodation and support	homeless men	~1992
Elandra Women and Children's Refuge[12]	Toukley	crisis accommodation and support	homeless single women and women with children
Kara Women and Children's Refuge[13]	Gosford	crisis accommodation and support	homeless single women and women with children	~1992
Maya Young Women's Refuge[14]	Narara	medium term accommodation and support	homeless young women	1987
Neleh Women and Children's Refuge[15]	Woy Woy	crisis accommodation and support	homeless single women and women with children
Rumbalara Youth Refuge[16]	Gosford	crisis accommodation and support	homeless young women or men, ages 15–18	1985
Woy Woy Youth Cottage[17]	Woy Woy	crisis accommodation and support	homeless young women or men, ages 14–20
Wyong Youth Refuge[18]	Wyong	crisis accommodation and support	homeless young women or men, ages 14–20
Youth Angle[19]	Umina	crisis accommodation and support	homeless young women or men, ages 15–18

See also

• Homelessness in Australia
• Yfoundations

References

1. "Central Coast Emergency Accommodation Services Ltd." acnc.gov.au. Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
2. "History". Coast Shelter. Accessed 27 July 2016.
3. "Homeless told to leave the Central Coast if they want to find affordable public housing." The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
4. Boddan, Patrick. "Coast Shelter turns 25". Central Coast Gosford Express Advocate. 2 March 2017.
5. "Rachel Willis to Replace Laurie Maher at Coast Shelter". Coast Community News. Accessed 26 March 2020.
6. "Coast Shelter CEO Laurie Maher accuses political parties of ignoring homeless crisis." The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
7. Herbert, Bronwyn (29 April 2010). "No room at the shelter for young homeless". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Accessed 27 July 2016.
8. Barnes, Denice. "State government budget cuts force closure of homeless youth service." The Daily Telegraph. 18 June 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
9. Luttrell, John. "Community Welfare." A New Light in the East – A History of the Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay 1986–2001. Wahroonga, NSW: Diocese of Broken Bay, 2005. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
10. "Annual Report." Archived 20 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine Coast Shelter. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
11. "Coast Shelter – Coimba Men's Refuge".
12. "Coast Shelter – Elandra Women and Children's Refuge".
13. "Coast Shelter – Kara Women and Children's Refuge".
14. "Coast Shelter – Maya Young Women's Refuge".
15. "Coast Shelter – Neleh Women and Children's Refuge".
16. "Coast Shelter – Rumbalara Youth Refuge".
17. "Coast Shelter – Woy Woy Youth Cottage".
18. "Coast Shelter – Wyong Youth Refuge".
19. "Coast Shelter – Youth Angle".

External links

• Coast Shelter Facebook Page
• Coast Shelter Twitter Page
• Minister Julia Gillard speech at Coast Shelter