Veritas House has launched a fundraising appeal to raise $250,000 to purchase a Transitional Youth Housing property in Orange to assist young people who are exiting crisis accommodation to transition into independent living.

“For many young people experiencing homelessness that stay at our crisis accommodation and who cannot return safely to their homes, it can be difficult to secure a lease in the private rental market with no prior rental history, low incomes and with Orange having one of the lowest rates of rental properties available in NSW,” explained Veritas House CEO, Jody Pearce.

“Purchasing a transitional youth housing property will enable Veritas to help break the cycle of homelessness and disadvantage for these deserving young people and we believe will benefit the Orange community for generations to come,” she said.

Veritas owns a one-bedroom flat in Bathurst which it operates as a transitional youth housing property, leasing the property at below market rent to young people who are transitioning from homelessness to independence; and Veritas case workers support them over a 3-6 month period to obtain furnishings, secure ongoing income, learn budgeting and tenancy management skills and develop a rental history. At the end of their lease, Veritas provides a reference and assists the young person to secure long-term private rental accommodation through advocacy and support.

Veritas has launched its fundraising appeal with a generous donation of $9,000 from The Agrestic Grocer who raised the funds at their ‘Mixed Tape’ event held in December 2018. Support has also been received from local business Macquarie Medi Spa, and from the McCormack Barber Community Chest.

“Our transitional young housing property in Bathurst has made a huge impact for the young people we work with and we urgently need access to a similar facility in Orange to support the local young people we work with every day,” said Jody. “We hope the local community, businesses and past supporters of Veritas will follow the lead of The Agrestic Grocer and really get behind our Appeal to help us raise our target of $250,000.”

Tax deductible donations can be made towards the Veritas Orange Transitional Housing Appeal through PayPal on the Veritas website donation page. Alternatively, businesses who would like to donate goods or services towards a raffle, or who would be interested in hosting a fundraising event to support the Appeal, can contact Narelle or Danielle on (02) 6332 3882 or email Narelle.Stocks@veritashouse.org.au.