About Us
Youth Outreach Australia is an initiative of its parent body, St Luke's Healing Foundation which is supported by the Capricornia Chapter of the Order of St Luke, the Physician (http://www.orderofstluke.org/ ). The Foundation came into being through the insight of a small number of people who are passionately concerned for the well-being of the constantly growing number of young Australians who find themselves needing help to achieve a good quality of life.
The number of homeless and at risk children and youth is a major concern for communities throughout Australia. Many teenagers who have feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness often cannot find a way out of their situations are led into a life of crime, while others attempt to end their lives, and many of these attempted suicides are successful. The Foundation's mission is to identify the communities that are not coping with providing adequate facilities and services to care for needy children and young people and establish a facility that has proven to be a successful model elsewhere, and reproduce that model in the identified communities.
The Foundation's officers have identified Central Queensland as an area of need for young people. The executive committee has purchased 108 acres of rural property near Rockhampton, to establish a pilot facility for the CQ community. When established, the facility will accommodate up to fifty residents, ranging in age up to 18 years. The center will provide sporting facilities such as a gym and swimming pool and will establish playing fields for its own use and for the use of the wider community.
The centre will provide 24/7 supervision of all residents who will be engaged in education either on site, including rural pursuits, or in regional schools, or be engaged in traineeships, apprenticeships or work experience.
It is anticipated that the facility will cost between $2 - $3Million. The Foundation is an Australian registered public benevolent institution and tax-deductible charity and all donations are fully deductible to the donor.
All of the people aware of these proposed projects can make a big difference in the lives of these young people. Many of the lives of these children and youth can be saved with your help - please help the foundation to achieve its mission to save the lives of these young people in giving them a chance to achieve the quality of life that they deserve.
MEET OUR CHAIRMAN
The Reverend Dr David Gentle
Chairman of St Luke's Healing Foundation and
Chaplain to the Capricornia Chapter of
The Order of St Luke the Physician
Dr Gentle has had wide experience as an Anglican clergyman as the Rector of large parishes in Queensland and Victoria, and he has held chaplaincies to the Capricornia Institute of Advanced Education(Central Queensland University), to the Australian Army, to Victoria and South Australia Police, to colleges and to the Capricornia Chapter of the Order of St Luke the Physician. David has served on many committees as both a member and chairman and was the Foundation Principal in his last parish of, what is now, a very large P-12 college. David has his own practice as a Clinical Psychologist and is deeply involved in the ministry of healing and is a tireless worker for St Luke's Healing Foundation.