Stepping Stone House

11/06/2026

“Reconciliation is a commitment to justice.” - Illarah Roberts

Last week Stepping Stone House came together during Reconciliation Week to listen, learn and be challenged. We welcomed some deadly Aboriginal Leaders in community to join us in speaking about what it takes to be ‘all in”, as it is this year's Reconciliation Australia theme.

The Aboriginal Bawaga program at Stepping Stone House was founded on these attributes, where there were true collaboration and self-determination from the local Aboriginal elders of Glebe, Lapa, Redfern, Waterloo and more. As a collective, both indigenous and non-indigenous peoples at Stepping Stone House, we carry this legacy today and moving forward. The legacy and way of life that we call ‘co-cultural’.

We teach young people how to live together, learn each other's history, respect one another’s culture and work toward true reconciliation in this country.

A major part of this is learning about the history of the physical country we are currently residing on, learning how to care for it, about all its secrets, beauty's and how it continues to sustain us.

We were honoured to be joined by Illarah Roberts, a proud Bundjalung and Yuwaalaraay woman and emerging leader in the Aboriginal Land Rights movement. As part of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council Youth Advisory Committee, Illarah is working to ensure that young Aboriginal mob sit with our elder to carve a way forward that is better for all of us. Ensuring that mos are not just included in these conversations, but leading them, shaping them, and carrying them forward.

Her message was clear. Land rights are not abstract. They are not historical. They are ongoing. They are about sovereignty, self-determination, and the right for communities to protect, manage and remain connected to Country.

That history lives on. Not just in speeches or anniversaries, but in the leadership of young people who are refusing to let those demands be diluted or forgotten.

We are deeply grateful to Illarah for sharing her knowledge, her perspective and her strength with our community.

Reconciliation means nothing without land rights. And land rights, as Illarah reminded us, are still being fought for.

11/06/2026

A few years ago, Impact100 Sydney backed an idea that most people never see up close: what it actually takes for a child or young person to move from homelessness to independence.

Their 2020 grant helped us extend our Independent Living Program, creating space for more young people to have stable housing, support, and a real shot at what comes next.

It’s easy to talk about impact in numbers. What stays with us are the quieter shifts. A first lease, a steady job, and the confidence to make a plan and trust it might hold.

Thank you to the Impact100 community for backing work like this, and for doing it together.

We’re looking forward to celebrating with you next week 🧡

For young people experiencing homelessness, stability can change everything.

Our 2020 grant supported Stepping Stone House and its work with homeless and at-risk young people aged 12 to 24.

The funding strengthened their housing and wrap-around support model, including outdoor education, counselling, and life-skills programs designed to build resilience and independence.

Join us on 18 June to celebrate ten years of giving and hear from the organisations that have helped transform lives across Sydney.

🎟️ Register here: https://events.humanitix.com/a-decade-of-impact

05/06/2026

Last week, our CEO Jason Juretic joined leaders from across the housing and homelessness sector to unpack a question we can’t keep avoiding: how do we move beyond short-term fixes and start building systems that actually hold?

On the panel the conversation was honest about the tensions we’re all navigating. Too often, funding cycles prioritise bricks and mortar over the services that make housing sustainable. At the same time, the work is becoming more complex. Demanding stronger governance, deeper capability, and long-term thinking from all of us.

What came through clearly is that none of this can be solved in isolation. Partnerships aren’t a nice-to-have. They’re how change actually happens: locally, nationally, and across systems that weren’t designed to work together.

For us at Stepping Stone House, this isn’t theoretical. It’s the work we do every day: combining housing with wraparound support so young people can move from crisis to stability, and then beyond it.

As we head into EOFY, this is the reality we’re asking our community to step into with us. Because building homes is only part of the solution. It’s the support behind them that changes what’s possible.

Thank you again to Penny Kaleta, Deborah Di Natale, Shari McPhail and Third Sector News for such a generous and grounded conversation, and to everyone working across this sector to push for something better.

05/06/2026

There was one rental listing in Australia this year that someone on JobSeeker could actually afford.

Just one.

That figure comes from Anglicare’s 2026 Rental Affordability Snapshot, which looked at nearly 50,000 properties across the country.

For people on Youth Allowance, there were none. For many low-income Australians, the private rental market has effectively disappeared.

Housing isn’t just expensive. It’s out of reach altogether for some people.

People move between short-term options, rely on friends, stretch things out as long as possible.

Then eventually, there isn’t anywhere left to land.

This is the space we are working in every day.

Not the headline version of homelessness, but the point just before it, where housing insecurity turns into something harder to reverse.

As we move into the end of financial year, that difference matters.

Because the support you provide now is what keeps that line from moving further.

https://www.steppingstonehouse.com.au/how-to-help/donate

04/06/2026

The Rotary that rocks 🧡🤟

For nearly four decades, Rotary has been part of the Stepping Stone House story, and it’s people like Max and Joan Connery who sit at the centre of that history.

Jackie, featured in these pictures, lived three doors down from Max and Joan. Her parents, Captain Trevor Haworth AM and Geraldine are some of the oldest members of the club. Their longstanding friendship with Max and Joan, and the generosity of Rotary towards Stepping Stone House, is a history that is still very present.

Ben Evans was there too. He joined Rotary in 2015 and spoke about how much it means to him, especially the way the club welcomed him back after some time away. That sense of being part of something that holds you stays with people.

Ben now invites others into it as well, including bringing a young person from Stepping Stone House, who is now an honorary and beloved member of the club.

When I asked Rotary how they would describe what they do, they said: we donate and fundraise, and we take action.

And that is what this relationship has always looked like. Not just support in principle, but friends showing up over time, looking after the places our young people call home, and making sure those spaces feel steady, cared for and ready.

To Rotary Club of Sydney Cove, the Connery family, and the many members who have shaped this over the years, thank you.

29/05/2026

This month, we’re celebrating 12 years of Shana Lewis at Stepping Stone House.

Since joining in 2014, Shana has grown through role after role across the organisation, from direct frontline support to senior leadership, helping shape how we care for children and young people not just in moments of crisis, but across the long journey towards safety, stability and independence.

Over the years, her work has helped shape some of the most important parts of our model, from service expansion through to the creation of new responses for young people with complex needs, and her contribution was recognised with Emerging Leader finalist status in the 2021 Third Sector Awards.

What stands out just as much, though, is her commitment to learning, collaboration and continuous improvement in the service of better care. Recently, Shana travelled to Melbourne to spend time with the team at Bridge It, learning more about their Cocoon model and exploring what we might carry forward into our own work with children and young people.

Bridge It does extraordinary work creating homes and wraparound support for young people who have experienced out-of-home care or homelessness, and we’re so grateful to Carla Raynes and the team for welcoming us so generously. You’re awesome.

Thank you, Shana, for 12 years of care, leadership and deep commitment to children and young people. We’re lucky to have you.

28/05/2026

Homelessness isn’t solved overnight. Neither is the work of rebuilding safety, stability and a future. That’s why we’re in it for The Long Haul.

From 5am Friday 29 May until midnight Sunday 31 May, every donation to The Long Haul will be tripled. If you’ve been thinking about giving, this is the moment to make it go further.

Almost 46,000 young people under 25 are experiencing homelessness in Australia. Your donation will help Stepping Stone House provide safe housing, care and support for children and young people who need more than a short-term fix.

A $50 gift becomes $150.

Donate before midnight on Sunday: https://www.thelonghaul.com.au/donate

28/05/2026

The week has been a significant week for the Aboriginal Bawaga children, young people, staff, families and community.

We have been reflecting on key dates in our shared history on this continent, including National Sorry Day and the anniversary of the 1967 referendum.

We pay our respects to the Elders who have passed, children who were removed, and the families who have been affected and continue to be affected by these policies, which took children away from their country, their mob, tribe and culture.

Last week, our Bawaga team and young people stood on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, Old and New Parliament House, learning about the history of these policies, the decisions that were made, the leaders who continue to fight for change, and the importance of advocacy.

The young people enjoyed learning about the history and, most importantly, felt hopeful for the future. In the hopes that this country supports Aboriginal children, families and communities to stay together, look after one another, and care for Country.

This week is about standing with First Nations voices who have been clear for generations about what needs to change: community control, self-determination, and an end to policies that continue to separate children from family and culture.

We encourage you to reach out to family, friends, colleagues and mob, and check in. We need collaboration between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples moving forward to create better standards for all children on this continent.

25/05/2026

Not all of our Long Haul participants signed up willingly… but they’re still showing up 🐾

Meet Hank, who’s been personally victimised by increased step counts thanks to his mum Fiona, all in support of children and young people facing homelessness.

He’s tired. He’s hungry. He is doing his best.

If you’d like to support Hank’s hard work (and his snack budget), you can donate to his Long Haul challenge 👉 https://www.thelonghaul.com.au/teams/stepping-stone-house/donations/new

Good boy energy only 🐶🧡

22/05/2026

More than halfway through The Long Haul 🏋️‍♀️

Hundreds of people are showing up, moving, and raising funds so young people can access real, long‑term support.

This week is always the hardest. The weather turns, the momentum dips, life gets in the way.
But this is the heart of the challenge.

Because long‑term change doesn’t happen in perfect conditions. It happens when people keep showing up anyway.

So if you needed a sign, this is it.

Keep going. Your effort is part of something bigger 🧡