For many young people, accessing mental health support isn’t as simple as making an appointment.
High costs, long wait times, transport barriers and a lack of trust in adults can all make it difficult to engage with services, particularly for young people already navigating homelessness, trauma and complex disadvantage.
For students at Youth Off The Streets’ alternative high schools, these challenges are part of daily life.
“It’s so important for our students to have access to mental health support at school,” says Thandi Betune, School Counsellor at Youth Off The Streets’ Step Up program. Supported by Merrylands RSL, her role ensures students can access this support when they need it most.
“If a young person is experiencing challenges or is hesitant about counselling, then it’s unrealistic to expect them to do that after school when they already face so many barriers, as well as other obligations.”
At Step Up, many students are already juggling multiple pressures, making off-site support difficult to access and sustain. Providing counselling within the school environment allows young people to access support in a space that is familiar, consistent and safe.
Meeting complex student needs
“We support a diverse group of students, many of whom are living in crisis accommodation and experiencing significant mental health, housing and family challenges,” says Thandi. “Supporting them often involves day-to-day practical coordination – booking appointments, liaising with child protection or the police and working closely with external caseworkers.”
Alongside this practical support, there is a strong focus on emotional and therapeutic work.
“We’re building a therapeutic relationship to the point where the students are ideally prepared to look at some of their trauma, start to process some of the things that have happened to them and develop better coping skills to manage the different ways that their trauma manifests at school and outside of school.”
These needs are often shaped by students’ prior experiences of education.
“We have a lot of students who have struggled at other schools for social or anxiety reasons,” says Thandi. “We also have a lot of students who are neurodiverse – working with them involves talking through how to manage sensory overload or anxiety in the classroom.”
Holistic support at Step Up
While much of Thandi’s role involves one-on-one counselling sessions, her work extends well beyond this. She supports students individually and in group settings, spending time in classrooms and helping facilitate positive social interactions between students and staff. Thandi also plays a key role in coordinating longer-term support pathways and connecting students with broader services.
“If a student is graduating soon or if their mental health challenges are beyond what I can help them with at school, then I set them up with external supports,” says Thandi. “Part of my role is talking them through their options, setting up appointments and sometimes taking them to their first appointments so they feel safe enough to engage with these other services.”
This level of involvement is made possible by the small class sizes at Youth Off The Streets schools.
“We’re lucky that our staff to student ratios are so small,” says Thandi. “You can build relationships with every student and there’s enough flexibility that you can meet up with students on their terms.”
Support is also highly collaborative, with staff working closely together to respond to each student’s needs.
“Our youth worker is great at recognising when issues have reached a point where a student would benefit from counselling and will refer them to me,” says Thandi.
Teachers are also an essential part of this network. They will observe things in class and pass them on if they think there’s something that Thandi should know. In turn, Thandi says, she’ll share insights that might help teachers better engage a student in the classroom.
This shared understanding allows staff to recognise the factors influencing student behaviour and respond with greater empathy and consistency.
“I can tell a teacher, for example, that a student is behaving in a certain way because they haven’t been sleeping well or they’ve just started a new medication,” says Thandi. “It’s much easier to stay within that trauma-informed space when you understand what’s going on.”
Building skills and confidence
“The areas where we often see the greatest development are social and emotional,” says Thandi.
Through counselling, students who have extreme social anxiety, struggle to communicate with their peers or with adults or struggle to attend school can build the confidence to address some of those anxiety responses.
“Addressing some of these anxieties can have a huge impact on students engaging with school, making friends and speaking up in the classroom,” says Thandi.
Over time, this growth can lead to significant personal change.
“I’ve seen quite remarkable breakthroughs and moments of self-reflection that have led to more tolerance towards other people,” says Thandi. “That makes it easier for these students to connect with others and have a better relationship and understanding of themselves, too.”
Importantly, the skills students develop through counselling are designed to extend beyond the school environment. Adolescence is a critical time for identity development – shaping how young people understand themselves, relate to others and navigate relationships with family, friends and peers.
“By building emotional awareness and coping strategies, students are better equipped to manage challenges at home and in the community, too,” says Thandi.
Wraparound support within the school plays a crucial role in sustaining this progress.
“I think having all these services under one roof means that we bypass that service gap,” says Thandi. “It’s hard to guide anybody, let alone young people, through services, particularly those experiencing homelessness, domestic violence and mental health challenges – and often our students are engaging in multiple services.”
Staff from other areas of Youth Off The Streets – such as our Dunlea Alcohol and Other Drugs Youth Service team and caseworkers from Youth Support Services – are also involved in supporting students at our schools.
“That support is built in for the students,” says Thandi. “It’s incredible to have people we can call when we have a young person who has nowhere to sleep tonight or who needs more complex support.”
