I want to know more about Yes Unlimited
Yes Unlimited is a not-for-profit, community-based organisation that has been delivering a range of services and supports in Albury and surrounding areas for more than 40 years. We have a particular focus on working with young people, people experiencing homelessness and women and children escaping domestic and family violence.
Yes Unlimited is a Company Limited by Guarantee, and proud to be locally governed by our Board of Directors who bring a mix of skills, experience and community perspectives to the strategic direction of our organisation. Our team of over 50 staff are passionate about our community and believe that everyone should have access to the resources, knowledge and supports they need to thrive.
At Yes Unlimited being values-led isn’t just something we say, it’s something we believe in our heart and aspire to live every day.
Our Purpose
Investing in people; building thriving communities.
Our Big Hairy Audacious Goal
Future generations without homelessness by 2050.
Here’s what we think is most important at Yes Unlimited:
Clients First
- We are deeply on our client’s side
- We are eternally optimistic and don’t give up
- We actively support client’s autonomy
Doing it Together
- We partner for impact
- We capitalise on diversity
- We build dynamic teams
Leaders in Practice
- We are brutally honest with ourselves about what’s working and what is not
- We are creative, innovative and purposeful in our practice
- We are always learning
There’s a few things we think we do particularly well at YES Unlimited:
Driving Change: We don’t think that good, is good enough, and believe we have an obligation to be part of positive change at an individual, community and societal level.
Bending the rules: Sometimes the ‘rules’ don’t work for everyone and if Yes Unlimited is truly going to put Clients First then we need to be agile enough to bend around the client. That’s why we always encourage people to call if they have a situation they are not sure fits. Who knows what we can come up if we talk it out.
Creating environments of trust: At the heart of all good and respectful relationships is trust. We are committed to building an environment where trust is at the centre, with our teams, our clients and the broader community.
If you would like access to historical annual reports, please contact us.
Yes Unlimited currently deliver the following services:
- Lead agent for Southern Murrumbidgee Specialist Homelessness Services
- Bettys Place Women’s Refuge
- Broughton House Youth Refuge
- The Hive Youth Resource Centre
- Staying Home Leaving Violence
- Sustaining Tenancies in Social Housing
- The Albury Project
- 1978 First Youth Refuge – The first youth refuge, Broughton House, was established in Albury. In true grassroots style, a group of concerned community members got together and decided to do something about the growing issue of youth homelessness, employing one person to run the refuge. In true grassroots style, a group of concerned community members got together and decided to do something about the growing issue of youth homelessness, employing one person to run the refuge
- 1982 Funding Expanded – Funding expanded to include 4 workers at Broughton House
- 1983 YES Registered – Albury Wodonga Youth Emergency Services Ltd (YES) was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
- 1985 Counselling Service Lobbying and submission writing resulted in the formation of the Adolescent Family Counselling Service
- 1986 Book Keeper YES was funded to employ a part time book keeper.
- 1989 Burdekin Report – ‘Our Homeless Children’, also known as ‘The Burdekin Report’, put the spotlight on youth homelessness at a national level and YES was granted funding for additional administration to coordinate service delivery.
- 1996 Administrator Appointed – An Administrator was appointed to oversee legal and financial responsibilities, as well as providing a central contact point for the increasing number of services provided.
- 1998 Executive Officer – An Executive Officer was appointed, providing the organizational structure and professionalisation required for the developing community sector.
- 2002 Name Change – YES changes its name to Yes Youth and Family Services to reflect its growing scope and focus on integration.
- 2002 Continual Evolution – Yes Youth and Family Services continued to evolve over subsequent years, delivering programs for young people involved in the juvenile justice system, foster care, mentoring programs, working in local schools, and further integrating our case management, therapeutic and accommodation services.
- 2008 Hub Co-Location Project – The Hub Co-location project is launched bringing a range of partner services in our central office on Macauley street, creating a one-stop-shop for homelessness services.
- 2014 Lead Agent – In the wake of the NSW reform of Specialist Homelessness Services in 2014, Yes Unlimited was successful in its tender to become the lead agent for all homelessness services in Southern Murrumbidgee, partnering with Vinnies Services, Homes Out West and Verto Tenants Advice. This new role saw other grassroots services, Betty’s Place Women’s Refuge, Albury Supported Accommodation Service and The Place Youth Centre join the family, expanding both our capacity and client group.
- 2015 Launched System – Our innovative Centralised Intake, Assessment and Brief system is launched in Albury, aimed at simplifying access to homelessness services.
- 2016 Rebrand – Yes Youth and Family Services rebrands to Yes Unlimited, expanding our focus on young people to include a wider vision of ‘Future Generations without Homelessness’.
- 2017 The Hive – The Hive Youth Resource Centre (formerly known as The Place) has its Grand Opening in its new site in the former Lavington Library.
- 2018 The Albury Project – The Albury Project early intervention partnership between local schools and services is launched.
- 2019 Additional Funding – Additional funding was secured for the ‘Staying Home Leaving Violence’ and ‘Sustaining Tenancies in Social Housing’ programs, positioning the organisation to take more of a focus on domestic and family violence and early intervention.
- 2023 New Women’s Refuge – Yes Unlimited and partner organisation Housing Plus are successful in our bid to build a brand new Core and Cluster Women’s Refuge for Albury.
Board of Directors
David Gaukroger
Chair
Heather Downey
Vice-Chair
Jen McCrum
Treasurer
Jason Schneider-Fuller
Director
Joanne Mathey
Director
Joseph Lumanog
Director
Michael Brigden
Director
Tracey Fraser
Director
Trent Dean
Director
Executive Team
Di Glover
CEO
Jon Park
Client Services Manager
Bec Glen
Organisational Development and Quality Manager
Kira Pace
Program Manager – Adults and Family Services
Tam Quinn
Program Manager – Youth Services
At Yes Unlimited we are a dynamic team of passionate individuals working to make a difference in our community. Yes Unlimited has a focus on a strong organisational culture and on living our values, and we pride ourselves on maintaining an environment where people can thrive.
Click here to learn more about working at Yes Unlimited.
Yes Unlimited has developed an evidence-based Model of Practice that broadly outlines the things that are most important to us as an organisation, the knowledge we draw on and most importantly the way we think about our work with clients, the community and each other. The Model is centered around three core areas of knowledge and theoretical thinking:
The Five Foundations for Ending Homelessness
The Five Foundations shape the scope of our work, the structural elements of our focus and assist in defining the problem or issues we are addressing in terms of a holistic understanding of what wellbeing encompasses. While there are clear and present expectations for practice associated with the model, it will also remain aspirational, recognizing that good is never good enough.
Trauma Informed Practice
Trauma Informed Practice provides us with a deeper understanding of human behaviour and the impacts of cumulative trauma, the importance of healthy attachment and relationships, and the critical need for both worker and organisational self-awareness.
Strengths Based, Asset and Talent Focused
The Strength Based/Open Talent Philosophies are an expression of our organisational values and our core belief about people; that they are experts in their own lives, that they have the capacity to grow and change and that people should not be defined by their problems.
Ultimately our goal as an organisation is to foster an emotionally intelligent workforce that is highly attuned to the nuances of what is complex work, and positioned to respond in a thoughtful, empathic and informed manner.
Importantly, the ‘way of thinking’ presented through the model is applicable to all elements of the organisation, be it direct practice, management, governance program design, or administration.
The Model’s value is only realised in how it is ‘lived’ by the organisation and the people within it. Its primary intention is for all of us to personally internalise this way of thinking, positioning us to respond more compassionately and effectively to the people and community we are here to serve.
We can’t create a future without homelessness on our own. We partner with a range of services in working towards this goal:
- The Hub Co-location: Verto Tenants Advice, Argyle Community Housing, Linking Communities Network: Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service, Aboriginal Community Housing.
- The Albury Project: Headspace Albury-Wodonga, Albury City Council, Child Youth Mental Health Service (CYMHS), Department of Communities and Justice, Upstream Australia and the three Albury public high schools James Fallon, Murray, and Albury.
- Homelessness: Vinnies Services and Homes Out West.
- Domestic and Family Violence: Albury-Wodonga Aboriginal Health Service, Albury Women’s Centre for Health and Wellbeing, Linking Communities Network: Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service, Housing Plus.
- Peak bodies: Homelessness NSW, Yfoundations and Domestic Violence NSW.
Yes Unlimited has a particular passion for partnerships, locally driven reform and systems change. Well-designed systems make the most of our collective resources, position us for earlier intervention and ensure services are coordinated.