Melanie Evans has worn many hats throughout her time at YFS. With almost 17 years of service to the organisation and the community, Melanie has never been more appreciative of the wealth of opportunities provided to her.
“YFS values their employees so highly. They recognise the importance of support and training.”
“One of the best things about working at YFS is the ability to grow. I’ve really enjoyed the learning process and seeing my development across different sectors. Being able to experience so many different areas keeps me interested and engaged.”
“I was so lucky to end up here and stay here.”
Melanie’s breadth of service experience initially arose out of necessity in her early days with YFS.
“When I first started, I had to be a jack of all trades. My area of expertise was mental health and disability support, but I had to quickly pick up skills related to housing, families, and youth work.”
“Whatever the goals of the client, those were the goals you worked on. If you didn’t know what to do, you figured it out.”
However, as the organisation has grown and services have become more specialised, Melanie has observed positive changes in service delivery.
“Whilst having a broad understanding of many different areas has its benefits, having staff with expertise in specific services is great because you can develop better relationships with stakeholders and have designated people to seek advice from.”
“That’s one of the things I love above working here: I’ve always got someone to go to for help.”
Nevertheless, Melanie remains grateful for her diverse experiences in service delivery, recognising it brings an essential perspective to her current Financial Hub team.
“Having the background in family intervention, child safety, mental health and homelessness enables our team to understand cases through different lenses, which is really beneficial for structuring our responses to help clients.”
Melanie’s approach to service delivery exemplifies YFS’ values, but for her, its second nature. Maintaining the essence of YFS, even as the community grows and living pressures increase, is her first priority.
“Although the organisation has grown, we’ve still maintained the essence of YFS. We’re still client centred. We have a much stronger focus on trauma informed responses now and that lens is helping us meet the community’s needs, especially as they’ve changed over the years.”
“We’re still embedded within the community, and we have the trust of the people here who otherwise probably wouldn’t access the services they need.”
“YFS came from the local community in the first place and that is where its stayed. Yes, it’s changed and evolved, but at our core we are place-based, and that helps us meet people’s needs.”
YFS’ mission to serve its community has resonated strongly with Melanie, and the rest of the organisation.
“YFS doesn’t take the easy way out. We’re steadfast. We won’t shy away from situations that are difficult, or clients that have complex needs.”
“We’ve always tried to support the people in this community, and we won’t turn away just because things are hard.”
And the community itself is one worth fighting for.
“It’s been great to watch the Logan community grow.”
“When anyone is experiencing hardship, they just help out and make things work. Whenever things go wrong, this community comes together.”
