Category: Blog

Following more than three years of fundraising, local youth service Veritas House has purchased a two-bedroom flat which will be used to support local young people transitioning from homelessness to living independently. 

Veritas House launched its fundraising appeal in December 2018 in response to a desperate shortage of affordable properties available to support vulnerable young people in the Orange region. Despite rising property prices and fires, floods and Covid impacting fundraising efforts during this time, strong community support has helped raise more than $280,000 to enable the property purchase. 

According to Veritas House CEO, Jody Pearce, while a further $40,000 is still needed to own the property outright, the critical need meant that Veritas could not delay purchasing a suitable property. 

“This is an incredibly exciting milestone for Veritas House and could not have been possible without the overwhelming support of businesses, individuals and community groups who have supported our fundraising appeal over the past three years,” said Jody.  ” 

Veritas House reports that an average of 50 young people access crisis accommodation at their youth refuge in Orange each year, many of whom are unable to return safely to their homes. For these young people, it can be difficult to secure a lease in the private rental market with no prior rental history and limited finances.  

The newly purchased property will be leased for six to nine months to young people transitioning into independence, with case workers providing support to obtain furniture, secure ongoing income, and learn budget and tenancy management skills. At the end of their lease, Veritas will provide a reference, and advocate and support the young people in securing long-term accommodation.   

“The fundraising appeal kicked off in late 2018 when the Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation committed $60,000 towards the renovation of a property,” said Jody.  

“Now that we have raised sufficient funds to make a purchase, the Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation’s grant will be used over the next few months to paint, re-carpet, install energy-efficient lighting and heating, and furnish the flat to make it a comfortable home for young people for years to come. 

“The Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation grant is one of the largest that Veritas House has ever received, and we are so grateful that they recognised the value of this community project right from the start. We can now honour their commitment by making the property one that young people will be proud to maintain and call home.”  

Tax deductible donations to the Veritas House Transitional Housing Appeal can be made at: https://veritashouse.org.au/donate/transitional-youth-housing-appeal/. 

Local homelessness services Wattle Tree House, Veritas House and Housing Plus will host a free BBQ in Kings Parade on Friday, August 5 from 12noon as part of a number of activities taking place throughout the week to mark Homelessness Week. 

The event is designed as an opportunity for vulnerable residents to receive a free meal and learn about the services that are available, and for the wider community to have a conversation with agencies about what can be done locally to address homelessness. 

According to Wattle Tree House Client Service Officer, Sam Galliotas homelessness is not just a big city issue, with ABS data estimating that more than 10,000 people are experiencing homelessness in regional and rural NSW. 

“With housing prices skyrocketing and a lack of affordable rental homes, vulnerable people of all ages in communities like Bathurst are at increasing risk of homelessness,” said Sam. “Most are hidden from view through couch surfing and sleeping in cars, so it is easy to assume it doesn’t exist in a town like Bathurst, but that is not the case,” she explained. 

In addition to displays by the homelessness services, information packs will also be available from the Bathurst Library who have launched their ‘No Fixed Address Membership’ initiative during Homelessness Week, which includes the availability of library memberships for people who have no fixed address so they can still borrow resources and use the library facilities. 

Sam believes Homelessness Week is the chance for local residents to become aware of how to support a vulnerable person who may be at risk of homelessness.  

“We’re encouraging Bathurst residents to make themselves aware of local services like Wattle Tree House, Veritas House, Housing Plus and the Bathurst Library, so that any vulnerable person experiencing or at risk of homelessness can be connected to the services and supports they need. Our BBQ lunch will be a great opportunity to get this information and to have a conversation about what can be done to address the issue,” she said. 

Other local events and activities taking place throughout Homelessness Week include an information display at the Armada shopping centre, a free BBQ at Oberon and Harvest Café & Store will be selling cupcakes and raffle tickets all week as well as donating $1 from every hot drink sold this Friday towards StreetSmart Australia, a national charity that has supported Veritas House and other local homelessness services over recent years. 

The Homelessness Week BBQ has been supported by a range of organisations including Devro, Bernardi’s IGA, Bathurst Real Estate, Bunnings Bathurst, HopeCare, PFD Food Services, Country Fruit, Coles Bathurst, Barkers Butchery Oberon, Oberon Newsagency, Pick of The Bunch Oberon, Oberon Bakehouse, Lifeline, Mary McKillop, Bathurst Uniting Support Services, Mawhoods IGA Oberon and Swirl & Dip. 

Almost 400 people attended the Veritas House Winter Ball at Bathurst Goldfields on Saturday night 25th June, and raised an incredible $60,000 to support transitional housing for young people experiencing homelessness in our region. Our black-tie event was held to celebrate our 40^th anniversary of supporting children, young people and their families, and we could not be happier with the result!

It’s has been 18 months in the making, but it was absolutely worth the wait. We wanted to create a special night where we could pay tribute to this milestone for our agency and to raise much-needed funding for transitional youth housing, but we never dreamed of raising such a significant amount and have been blown away by the generosity of our supporters! We would like to acknowledge in particular local businesses who sponsored the event, including VERTO, Peak Connect, Bathurst RSL Club and Bathurst Goldfields. On the back of Covid, fires, floods and drought, it has been a tough time for local businesses, so we are incredibly grateful to have had the financial and in-kind support of so many local businesses.

Access to affordable housing in our local region continues to be the greatest barrier for the young people we support, and so we will utilise the proceeds from this event to provide accommodation to young people transitioning from homelessness to independence. Veritas House owns one transitional property in Bathurst and has recently purchased one in Orange, but this is not enough to assist the large number of young people we support to move from homelessness to independence each year. Our goal is to have additional properties in the years to come and the funds raised from our Winter Ball will assist us to realise this goal.

Thank you again to everyone who attended, donated to or otherwise supported the Winter Ball 2022.

The Veritas House Winter Ball is set to go ahead! After being postponed last year due to a clash with the Bathurst 1000, we are pleased to be bringing the event to life on Saturday 25^th June, 2022.

Corporate services manager Narelle Stocks said it’s exciting that the ball can finally be held. “We were disappointed we couldn’t go ahead last year but I think it’s really added to the excitement, that we can finally plan for and hold a proper celebration for such a significant milestone,” she said. “When we came up with the idea, we were thinking back on the last 40 years and balls were really big in Bathurst years ago. Everyone would go to the Bathurst 1000 ball and that was a big day on the calendar, so we thought there was a bit of a gap in Bathurst. We held a Winter Wonderland Ball for Veritas House’s 30^th anniversary, so it seemed appropriate to do one again this year. We’re hoping it can be one of those events that people really look forward to, to dress up and celebrate during winter.”

All proceeds from the ball will go towards our Transitional Youth Housing Appeal, aiming to provide accommodation to young people moving from homelessness to independence.

Apprenticeships, training and employment services agency VERTO will remain as the platinum sponsor for the ball, given the shared values between our two not-for-profit organisations. Sponsorship commitments have also been made by Peak Connect, Bathurst RSL and host venue Bathurst Goldfields (gold sponsor), as well as Raine and Horne Bathurst, The Persuader, Bathurst Regional Security, and Greer Films (silver sponsors).

Tickets are $125 per head with tables of 10 available. Tickets include a glass of wine, three-course dinner and live music.

For tickets, visit veritashouse.org.au/events/winter-ball-2022 or call us on 6332 3882.

This week, Veritas House staff were eager to learn how we can better help children and young people handle stress in constructive ways, to de-escalate and prevent potential crises from occurring. The group spent 4-days completing Therapeutic Crisis Intervention training with our in-house training facilitators, Bronte and Peter; the first of many groups we’ll see completing the TCI training here at Veritas House.

TCI has two goals of crisis intervention:

1. Support young people by providing immediate emotional and environmental support to reduce stress and risk and increase the young person’s sense of safety; and
2. Teach young people by helping them learn and practice ways to regulate their emotions and behaviours.

A big thank you to Ben and Brad from TACT Tailored Training Courses for sharing their amazing TCI knowledge and skills with Bronte and Peter last year, and helping Veritas House take our support to children and young people to another level.

The offices of Veritas House will be closed on the following public holidays: Monday 27th, Tuesday 28th December 2021 and Monday 3rd January 2022. If you need help or support on these days from Veritas House staff, please contact either the Youth Refuge in Bathurst on 0407 188 877 or the Youth Refuge in Orange on 0417 657 232.

From Wednesday 29th to Friday 31st of December, limited staff will be working weekdays from each office. If you need assistance from Veritas House staff during this time, please contact 1300 01 1973.

If you need urgent help or support throughout the festive period, please call one of the following services:

• link2home Homelessness Line on 1800 152 152
• Child Protection Helpline on 132 111
• Lifeline on 13 11 14
• Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800

We wish you a happy and safe Christmas and New Year.

Veritas House was proud to unveil newly commissioned artworks by three local young artists, showcasing their talents alongside the Brett Whiteley exhibition at the Bathurst Regional Art Gallery. 

Earlier this year, the ‘Veritas Art Project’ was launched to coincide with Youth Week and to mark our forty-year history of supporting children, young people and their families in the region. Expressions of Interest were received from young people aged 12-25 living in Bathurst, Orange and surrounding areas, with the successful artists selected by a committee to have their work formally commissioned. The project was designed to celebrate and nurture artistic talent, as each young person was matched to a local established artist who provided mentoring sessions to support the creation of the artworks. Following the exhibit, the artworks will be installed at the Veritas House centres in Bathurst and Orange, for the enjoyment of local young people accessing the agency’s services for years to come. 

The Veritas Art Project was made possible by a grant provide by Arts OutWest and through sponsorship by Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Officeworks Bathurst and Pigments and Palettes; and was also supported by both the Orange Youth Action Council and the Bathurst Youth Council. 

Pictured (L – R): VERTO employment services team leader Chris Harrison, Veritas House senior practitioner Heather Johnston and CEO Jody Pearce.

Apprenticeships, training and employment services agency VERTO has come on board as platinum sponsor for the Winter Wonderland Ball, being held on 28th of August.

VERTO is a not-for-profit organisation assisting businesses and individuals with all their apprenticeship, employment and training needs.

VERTO’s expertise covers a range of areas including Aboriginal services, Australian apprenticeships services, disability services, employment services and vocational training to help businesses, individuals and local industry to thrive.

CEO Ron Maxwell said VERTO was thrilled to come on board as platinum sponsor of the Veritas House Winter Wonderland Ball to be held in Bathurst on Saturday, August 28.

“Our mission is to positively impact the lives of individuals and communities and this aligns very much with Veritas House – who provide vitally important services to children, young people, families and foster carers in Bathurst and the Central West,” he said.

“This year’s Winter Wonderland Ball is a true celebration of the outstanding work Veritas House has done in our local community for four decades.

“Not only is VERTO honoured to be platinum sponsors of the event, we’re very excited to provide $3,000 worth of prizes for the Winter Wonderland Ball auction and raffles, which we hope will help raise vitally important funds for Veritas House to help them continue to provide life-changing services in our local community.”

This year marks 40 years since we first opened our doors, providing accommodation through the Bathurst youth refuge to 100 young people experiencing homelessness in our first year alone. The Emerge refuge, formerly the Orange & District Youth Refuge, then become part of Veritas House in 2014, having moved from Lucknow to its current Orange location in 2007.

Four decades on, our commitment to caring for the region’s most vulnerable continues, as we provide accommodation and support services to more than 800 vulnerable children, young people and their families across the Central West each year.

To celebrate the impact our dedicated staff have made throughout this time, two commemorative trees were recently planted – a Snow Gum in Bathurst and an Acacia Blackwood in Orange – that will live alongside residents at each Youth Refuge. We were honored to be joined in Bathurst by the Hon. Paul Toole, Minister for Regional Transport and Roads and Member for Bathurst, and Bobby Bourke, Mayor of Bathurst.

In Orange our thanks goes to Mayor Reg Kidd, for helping Geoff Hastings, Veritas House Chairperson, and Jody Pearce CEO plant the commemorative tree and for the continued support, “It’s very important that we as a community are involved, and we put our heart and soul into it – from a personal point of view and a council point of view we support it 500 percent, and we always will,” said the Mayor.

Veritas House’s CEO, Jody Pearce, acknowledged the milestone this represents for Veritas, “It’s a special time for Veritas House because there’s been many, many people that have contributed to Veritas over the years,” she said. “It’s about acknowledging their contribution and their resilience. It’s amazing that the young people that came through these houses have gone on to do some great things. It’s a privilege to work with the young people, it’s a privilege to see their courage and resilience to come through adversity. It’s a privilege to work with a team that’s really committed to child protection and ending youth homelessness.”

These trees will serve as a reminder of our foundational roots in the local community and our ongoing commitment to providing shelter for generations to come.

Watch Prime News’ coverage of the Tree Planting Ceremonies here.

Pictured (L – R): Veritas Chair, Geoff Hastings, Libby Sinclair, Narelle Stocks, Mayor Bobby Bourke, Veritas CEO, Jody Pearce, Member for Bathurst, Paul Toole and Alanna Dixon and Sharon Jones from Veritas.

We are pleased to be celebrating alongside Heather and Kate from the Veritas House team, who have both completed the Professional Diploma in Therapeutic Life Story Work,  which has given them the opportunity to gain skills in how best to gather the stories of the children and young people we work with.

Heather explains, “The Diploma has given us the tools that we need to work with young people to put together the jigsaw that is their life. The pieces of the jigsaw are made up of conversations with parents, siblings, carers, child protection workers, health workers, police and educators.”

Having both completed the diploma, Heather and Kate are now in a position to work with young people and their carers in a way that helps to establish the young person in their placement, helps the carer/s to better understand and therapeutically manage the young person and perhaps most importantly helps the young person to know who they are and to be confident and accepting of themselves.

“It is difficult to grow up as a psychologically healthy adult if one is denied access to one’s own history.” (Vera Fahlberg, 2008)