1979 - present

Social problems facing teenagers negotiating the turbulent years of adolescence led to the birth of a innovative service at Bondi in 1979 aimed at helping families.

Two Waverley men, Rob Griggs and Bob Hately, created WAYS Youth & Family Services to provide positive ways of managing worsening social issues in the area.

More than 40 years later, WAYS is still offering people aged 8 to 24 a range of community-based programs in Bondi Junction and at its three-storey head office at North Bondi that features a giant mural on its street frontage.

Services include adolescent and family counselling, youth-friendly GPs and dentists, education and vocational workshops, recreational and holiday programs and after-school care. It also features WAYS Secondary – an accredited alternative, independent high school.

WAYS aims to build a community of young people and families who can make informed decisions about education and employment and healthy choices about health, wellbeing and recreation.

Central to the WAYS vision is helping families create harmony and understanding and equipping parents with skills to navigate the adolescent years. Being in touch with young people’s hopes, disappointments, frustration and challenges requires dedication, perseverance and patience. The Wellness Centre’s free effective parenting course have proved very popular.

Covid lockdown sparked a marked increase in calls for help managing mental health, substance use, legal and employment issues and disengagement with school. The pandemic also saw a spike in the need for crisis accommodation.

WAYS’ Youth Space and drop-in centre gives young people in the Bondi area a place to meet and hang out. Youth workers run guitar, cooking and skating lessons and rooftop basketball. Facilities include computers, pool table, HDTVs & Xbox, music studio and free meals.

Its youth committee organises music events including BLYMP, DJ dance parties and Battle of the Bands.

Bondi Blitz gives emerging bands, DJs and performers an chance to showcase their talents in a live music festival as part of annual youth week events supported by Waverley and Woollahra councils. WAYS relies on support from councils, businesses and individuals to continue its services.

Courtesy WAYS and the Waverley Library Local Studies Collection.