WELCOME MESSAGE
Charting our course requires both ambition and steadiness. It calls on us to hold firm to what matters most: staying authentic to our ethos, focused on impact, and building trust with the communities we serve.
This year marks an important point in Youturn’s journey. Together, we have set a bold new direction with our 2025–2028 Strategic Plan. It is a plan that draws deeply on the insights of staff, community, and partners, and one that reflects our vision: empowering people to live safe, connected, and meaningful lives.
As Chair, I am proud of how this plan has been developed and the unity it represents. It speaks to an organisation that knows where it has come from, understands the challenges of today, and is confident in charting a course for tomorrow. Grounded in our values of Integrity, Respect, Inclusion, Learning, and Stewardship, this plan reflects both who we are and who we aspire to be.
The past year has also demonstrated the strength of Youturn’s people. Through significant growth, new partnerships, and complex challenges, our staff have shown professionalism, care, and resilience. The Board has great confidence in the executive leadership and in the commitment of teams across the country who bring our mission to life every day.
Charting our course requires both ambition and steadiness. It calls on us to hold firm to what matters most: staying authentic to our ethos, focused on impact, and building trust with the communities we serve. The Board’s role is to guide and govern with care, ensuring Youturn is equipped not only to respond to immediate needs but to move upstream, influencing the broader conditions that shape lives.
On behalf of the Board, I thank our CEO, leadership teams, and every Youturner for your contribution. You are building an organisation that is trusted nationally, responsive locally, and always focused on people.
WELCOME MESSAGE
This is where Youturn stands today: Charting Our Course. We will always be there for people navigating hardship, transition, or seeking connection.
As an organisation, we have spent much of this year reflecting together on who we are and where we have come from. That work has anchored our vision and purpose, and it has helped us chart where we must go next. In the foreword to our Strategic Plan, I wrote of planting seeds for trees whose shade only future generations will sit under. Later in the year, I was reminded of Irving Zola’s parable of the river.
You may know it: two friends are picnicking when they see a child drowning. They rush to rescue her, only to see another, and another, until they are exhausted. Finally, one climbs out of the water and begins walking upstream. Asked why, the friend replies, “I’m going to stop the person throwing children into the river.”
This is where Youturn stands today: Charting Our Course. We will always be there for people navigating hardship, transition, or seeking connection. That means helping people into safe housing, supporting families in crisis, walking with those experiencing anxiety, depression, or suicide grief, and keeping children engaged in learning and community life. But this year, we also affirmed that part of our identity is to go upstream: to address causes, strengthen protective factors, and influence the systems that shape lives.
Our Theory of Change reflects this. It centres on three streams: Support, Collaborate, and Influence. This means continuing to prioritise person-centred care, becoming more intentional in our partnerships, and accepting our responsibility as stewards of community health, and by extension, national wellbeing.
I am proud of the progress we have made and humbled by the work still ahead. To lead Youturn is both an honour and a privilege. To the board, leadership team and every Youturner, thank you for a year of extraordinary achievement and shared purpose. To go far, we continue to go together.
WHO WE ARE
