What is Youthline?

Find out more about us

Youthline was created in 1970 and forms a collaboration of youth development organisations across the country. To find out more about how we operate click here.

Youthline works with young people, their families and those supporting young people. Our organisations are made up of volunteer and paid staff members - and we have centres based across the country.

We were established to ensure young people know where to get help and can access support when they need it. At the core of Youthline’s work is the development of leadership and personal skills in young people. We do this by involving young people; both those who seek assistance and those who wish to develop themselves.

To find out more about how we operate and what drives our work, see the links below:

Youthline's Kaupapa

A Four Pillar Approach

Youthline's Kaupapa

Youthline’s kaupapa aligns to the fundamental principles of youth development. Youth development is about being connected, having quality relationships, fostering participation and being able to access good information.

A Four Pillar Approach

A four pillar approach has guided our organisational development; the first pillar is quality service delivery, the second are our philosophies and practice documents, the third is what the organisation needs to thrive, the fourth is research and development. These four pillars are underpinned by a social/community enterprise framework and overlaid with strong governance aligned to our Vision, Mission and Values.

Our Vision

Our vision is to create communities where young people thrive and can get help if they need it.

Our Values

Our values are Community, Realness, Diversity, Can Do and Growth.

Organisational DNA

We are focused on building opportunities where young people, families and communities work together to ensure that young people are engaged in ways that “light their fire”, are able to help a friend out when distressed and champion change, are ok about asking for help if they need it and know where to go to get that help, be that friends, families or Youthline

The essential DNA of our work is interweaving of the three aspects of operation that makes Youthline unique.

Fundamentally this can be understood as

Engaging and involving (young) people,
Evolving and developing (young) people and then
Providing meaningful and real ways to give back to the community.

It is further described as our operational structure:

Community Development
Workforce and Leadership Development (People Development)
Wrap Around Service Provision

Strategic Elements

Youthline’s Strategic Elements were formed after many discussions (both internally and externally) to inform their development with an ongoing review by the Strategic Review Committee and signed off by the Youthline Board.

SE1 - The public perception is that Youthline is held in high regard as an organisation that young people and families can turn to for support and development/leadership opportunities.

SE2 - We must have credible engagement with people (predominantly young) across the country and are able to involve them in YL’s activities.

SE3 - We have sufficient and sustainable resources including facilities and IT infrastructure that enables the capacity and competency to be developed to achieve excellence in all our operations.

SE4 - We must be on the “cutting edge” of current best practice backed up by effective research and development processes.

SE5 - People are the heart of Youthline: all staff and volunteers are supported to develop professionally and personally.

SE6 - Reciprocal partnerships are vital to create communities where young people can reach their potential and get help if needed. Youthline has credible cross sector partnerships that build a “community net” which supports youth engagement and development.

How are we funded?

Our work is funded mostly through donations (from individuals and companies) and also by a mixture of project specific contracts that we hold with government and social enterprise activities (making our own money through creative means, like selling our own products - see our online shop for more!). For more detailed information about how we are funded, and how to become a funding partner, click here.

For more info on the Youthline centres around the country, click on the map below!