It’s almost that time of year again, when thousands of people will descend on Sydney’s CBD for the world’s biggest fun run – the City2Surf. Many will be there for personal fitness goals, some to spend the morning with friends and family. Others, like Amy, will be there to raise money for a cause close to their heart.
This year, Amy is running the City2Surf as part of #TeamStreets – not just as a personal challenge, but to raise funds for young people who urgently need safe spaces, education and mental health support. Young people like she used to be.
At just 14, Amy’s world was turned upside down. Escaping domestic violence and feeling completely disconnected from school, she learned how isolating it can be to carry trauma alone.
“Finally, I felt safe,” Amy says of the moment she connected with Youth Off The Streets – the place where, for the first time, she felt believed, supported and understood.
Youth Off The Streets became Amy’s community when she had nowhere else to belong. While her friends and peers seemed to be living “perfect lives,” Amy was navigating challenges she felt she had to keep secret.
With consistent support from Youth Off The Streets, she rebuilt her confidence, completed her HSC against the odds and began to imagine a future she hadn’t thought possible.
This City2Surf, run for the young people who need the safe spaces, education and mental support that Amy (far left) once needed.
“I think that’s what kind of got me through as a young person. Having that community within Youth Off The Streets, because I didn’t have that community in my personal life,” says Amy. “That community is what got me to where I needed to get and it’s what saved me.”
Today, Amy has come full circle. She now works as a youth support worker at Youth Off The Streets, using her lived experience to guide and encourage young people who are facing many of the same challenges she once did.
“I love working with young people,” she says. “Knowing how much the right support can change someone’s life is what keeps me here.”
When you fundraise for Youth Off The Streets, you’re contributing to real, life‑changing impact. As Amy’s experience shows, the right support at the right time can break cycles of disadvantage and transform lives.
Every dollar raised helps provide opportunities that young people may never have had before – whether that’s access to counselling, support to finish high school, taking the first step towards independence with a learner driver’s licence, or simply having a safe place to turn when they need it most.
Run with Amy. Join #TeamStreets.
Together, we can help more young people find their path to a positive future.
