Karinya support the needs of Tasmanian young people with Moving Communities Fund

Karinya Youth Services Tas, a Launceston-based not-for-profit and recipient of Kinetic’s Moving Communities Fund, has been supporting vulnerable young people for more than four decades.

Since opening its doors in 1979 as a crisis accommodation service for young women, Karinya has grown to support a broader range of young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, including young mothers. 

Patsy Hodges is the Programs Team Leader at Karinya, a role that spans programs, operations, and administration.

“Karinya is definitely a boutique service,” Ms Hodges said. “We’re a team of 15 staff members – we’re small but mighty.”

Operating under the Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) directive within Homes Tasmania, Karinya provides 24/7 crisis accommodation for young women. Beyond this vital service, it delivers transitional housing and intensive wraparound support through two key programs: Karinya Young Mums (KYM) and Karinya Youth Transitional Tenancy (KYTT).

The KYM program offers up to two years of accommodation and holistic support for young mothers and families, helping them build the skills needed for parenting and independent living. Meanwhile, the KYTT program supports young people aged 16 to 24 with safe, affordable housing and personalised support.

“When I first started at Karinya, we only had crisis accommodation,” Ms Hodges said. “In the 16 years I've been with the organisation we've grown a lot.”

Kinetic’s funding allows Karinya to support their clients with timely access to essential resources such as healthcare, access to important identity documents, clean clothes and personal hygiene items.  

“For any funding we receive, 100 per cent goes towards the clients and what they need,” Ms Hodges said.  

“One of the big barriers that our young people have is the cost of accessing healthcare in a timely way.”

Being able to provide this support quickly means that Karinya’s clients do not have to wait for their situation to worsen before receiving help.  

“This support means our young people don’t have to worry that they can't afford to go to the doctor or that they can't afford their medication.”

“They are already struggling with the day-to-day cost of living,” Ms Hodges said.  

For Ms Hodges, one of the most rewarding and unexpected outcomes of the partnership with Kinetic was seeing a former client secure a job with the company. After applying for a customer service role, the young person was successful – and recently completed their first day on the job.  

“We're just absolutely thrilled,” Ms Hodges said.  

“That's always been a missing link for us, those connections with employment. We know that our young people can do it, but they don't necessarily get the opportunity to show others that they can.”

“We're so excited about the partnership that we've got with Kinetic.”

Looking ahead Karinya hopes to continue its existing programs and upgrade the crisis accommodation where possible.  

“We’d love to put in new flooring, repaint the accommodation, improve the gardens, and even furnish some of our properties,” Ms Hodges said.

“We're always looking at what the gaps are in the services our young people need.”

“Supporting our young people is what gets me out of bed every day,” Ms Hodges said. “Having this job just consolidates for me how amazing and how resilient they are.”

Kinetic is proud to step up and partner with Karinya as they deliver vital support services to young people across Tasmania.  

To learn more about Karinya and their programs visit Karinya Youth Services Tas. For more information about Kinetic’s Moving Communities Fund visit wearekinetic.com/community.  

Further enquiries

Loni Jeffs
Communications Specialist
loni.jeffs@wearekinetic.com