It’s not every day SGCH gets a call from a 17-year-old who’s offering 90 hampers filled with essentials that can ease a customer’s transition from homelessness to being housed. Daniel Su (who has just finished Year 12) is the brainchild behind Help Elevate Youth (HEY) and he contacted SGCH Support Coordinator Belinda Torrington to offer these gratefully received care packages that will be shared out across our offices.  

HEY began when Daniel and his friends started fundraising to create bags packed with daily necessities that people coming from homelessness might not own, such as toothbrushes, socks, non-perishable food items and sunscreen. “I’d noticed that while we organised plenty of charity events at school, homelessness was often left out,” says Daniel. “Seeing people experiencing homelessness every day around Sydney’s CBD and in my local area, I knew I had to do something.” 

From its humble beginnings, HEY has grown. Today, it has 35-40 active volunteers. “We’re proud to be a youth-led group,” he says. “Most of our volunteers are students and 95% of our team is young people helping young people.” Initially, HEY was essentially crowd funded but now the group is looking to further grow its impact and recently received a micro-grant from Georges River Council.  

Daniel adds that HEY was looking to connect with an organisation that focuses on housing: “SGCH felt like a perfect fit because of its specialised programs, including youth housing.”  

Find out more about HEY’s excellent initiatives here.