Erskinevilla Youth Housing Inc. is a medium term accommodation service which provides supported housing for up to five young people aged between 16 and 19 years of age who are homeless or unsatisfactorily housed. The refuge itself is located in Knight Street in Erskineville. We are occupants of long standing in our street and maintain a positive profile in the local community.

Erskinevilla was funded initially in 1985 and is now in its twenty-second year of operation. The project ran originally under the auspice of South West Inner Sydney Housing Co-operative Ltd. Due to changes within that organisation, Erskinevilla Youth Housing decided to form a separate and independent Association which we did in November 1995.

The project is staffed by three full time workers – a Coordinator and two Youth Housing Officers- and a number of relief workers. All staff are responsible to a management committee who in turn are accountable for service provision to the Department of Community Services (DOCS). The service is run on a community based management model with up to ten individuals sitting on the committee. The voluntary management committee meet formally once every month, but are actually in contact with staff more regularly.
Funding for accommodation services is obtained through the national Supported Accommodation Assistance Programme (SAAP), which forms a part of the Commonwealth /State Housing Agreement. In New South Wales these funds are administered through the Department of Community Services (DOCS). Our local DOCS office is the Metro Sydney Area office which is located in Redfern. The funds are paid quarterly to the auspicing agency. The agency is accountable for these funds under a Funding Agreement with DOCS. It must submit annual reports, annual audited accounts and regular data on service provision.