About Us
Supporting people with disability to pursue their goals, build independence and live the life they choose.
What we do
Across Melbourne and regional Victoria, we support people of all ages and needs. Our 2,000+ staff provide a wide range of quality services, including accommodation supports, specialist accommodation for people with complex health conditions, employment, support coordination, kindergarten assistance, recreational and community access supports and therapy services. Learn more about what we do and how we can support you.
The coming together of Berry Street Yooralla in 2024 aligned the shared values and strengths of both organisations to deliver greater impact for the individuals and communities we work with and support.
Berry Street has spent generations working with children, young people and families experiencing trauma, abuse and disadvantage.
Today, we bring together a unique combination of workforce expertise, partnerships, and new ways of thinking, to expand, improve, and innovate our client-centred services.
Our Story Starts Here: Stronger Together
Berry Street and Yooralla share long histories of supporting people and communities across Victoria:
- Berry Street has spent generations working with children, young people and families experiencing trauma, abuse and disadvantage.
- Yooralla has been a trusted provider of disability services, supporting people with disability to pursue their goals, build independence and live meaningful lives.
The coming together of Berry Street Yooralla in 2024, aligned the shared values and strengths of both organisations to deliver greater impact for the individuals and communities we work with and support.
Today, we bring together a unique combination of workforce expertise, partnerships, and new ways of thinking, to expand, improve, and innovate our client-centred services.
Across Victoria, we are already seeing the positive impact this is having on children, young people, adults and families, experiencing trauma, disability, disadvantage, exclusion and inequality.
We look forward to sharing with you the next chapter of our story.
Our legacy
Our legacy started with people.
In November 1877, the first babies entered the Victorian Infant Asylum, established in Fitzroy to provide care for children and mothers, which later relocated to Berry Street in East Melbourne.
In February 1918, the Yooralla Free Kindergarten for Crippled Children was established by Sister Faith (Evangeline Ireland) in Fitzroy, to provide education to children with disability.
Since then, Berry Street and Yooralla have continually evolved to meet the changing needs of the community.
Each organisation has adapted, opened new services, strengthened existing programs, and come together with other organisations to innovate and expand so that more people can access the support they need.
Each organisation recognised the increasing complexity of need among the children, adults and families they support, and the opportunity to deliver more connected, trauma-informed and disability-aware services that better reflect the overlapping needs of the people they served.
And so…Berry Street Yooralla was formed.
Stronger together, and connected by shared values and purpose, we are now building another 150-year legacy of impact.
Our vision
We believe that people should feel safe, included, and supported, to lead their best lives.
To achieve this vision, we work alongside individuals, families and communities to foster wellbeing and relationships, and provide support, education, and pathways to home. Our vision connects all of our work to a person-centred approach and reflects our respect for the client’s voice.
Customer Wellbeing and Safeguards
Yooralla’s Quality, Innovations & Safeguards (QIS) unit has responsibility for developing, leading and coordinating the quality, safeguards and empowerment models of support across the organisation.
Policies
Yooralla has a comprehensive set of policies established to uphold the wellbeing and safeguards of people with disability.
Acknowledgement of Country
Berry Street Yooralla is committed to honouring Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their rich contribution to Berry Street Yooralla and our society.
The Yooralla Foundation
The establishment of the Yooralla Foundation has been inspired by the loyalty and unflagging generosity of supporters over many years. The Foundation honours their intent for their donations and gifts to benefit people with disability.