Where Hope Lives: St Kilda Gatehouse
“I wasn’t the only one feeling like this.” The words come from a woman whose life has been shaped by the challenges of addiction, homelessness and isolation. For her, St Kilda Gatehouse isn’t just a drop-in centre or an outreach service, it’s the one place she has felt safe enough to breathe, to talk and to belong.
Bertha* knows this too. Now 52, she still remembers the night she first slept alone at a railway station after leaving home at just 14. Her parents fought constantly, home wasn’t safe. School slipped away and survival became everything. On the streets, she was surrounded by drugs, alcohol, theft and the daily battle to protect herself. Over time she started to believe she was nothing.
It’s women like Bertha – resilient but deeply scarred by hardship – that St Kilda Gatehouse exists for. Tucked within Melbourne’s inner south, St Kilda Gatehouse opens its doors to women reliant on street-based sex work and to young people affected by sexual exploitation. Behind every statistic is a story like Bertha’s, stories of trauma, poverty and violence, but also of courage and endurance.
St Kilda Gatehouse was founded 33 years ago on a simple yet radical belief: that every person deserves respect and unconditional acceptance. It is a place where no one is turned away, no one is judged and everyone is offered the chance to connect.
They have multiple programs including the Greeves St. Drop-In Centre, Van Outreach, Young Women’s Program and ARISE, a program focussed on preventing child sexual exploitation. Each provides something deeper than just practical support, they create belonging.
Last year, around 500 individuals engaged with these services. The numbers speak volumes: 71 people connected through the Van Outreach, 297 women stepped through the Drop-In Centre’s doors and 184 young people found support through ARISE. For 60 of the most at-risk youth, that meant weekly or fortnightly therapeutic care; for others, it was targeted school programs, expert advice, or simply someone to listen. As a result, 65% of those young people reported stronger protective factors against sexual exploitation when the usual trajectory is heartbreakingly decline.
But the impact can’t be measured in numbers alone. It’s heard in voices like Bertha’s: “They have saved my life because the Gatehouse was the only place I could fall back on. Otherwise the streets would have exhausted me entirely and I wouldn’t have survived this long.”
For some, it’s the relief of safety: “It’s safe here.”
For others, it’s the joy of being seen: “I liked to talk about my goals and the activities were fun and made me happy.”
For Bertha, St Kilda Gatehouse was the place where she stopped feeling invisible. A place where she could begin to believe, once again, that she was worth something.
Every day, St Kilda Gatehouse proves that dignity, compassion and belonging can transform lives. For women and young people who often feel unseen, it remains a beacon, a true gatehouse, opening its doors to all who need it.
“Change happens when people are empowered to make a difference. Work like ours is possible because of the participation of a community of care.” says Nickie, CEO of St Kilda Gatehouse. It’s a community of care that the team here at Saward Dawson is proud to be a part of.
Helen one of our directors at Saward Dawson, talks about why the work of St Kilda Gatehouse matters to our team: “We believe that caring for the most vulnerable in our community is a really important contribution to make. St Kilda Gatehouse has been doing incredible work for years and it’s truly a privilege to support their mission and help them continue making such a meaningful difference in people’s lives.”
St Kilda Gatehouse is a Charity inFocus partner of the Saward Dawson Community Foundation in 2025. You can read more about their work at https://sawarddawson.com.au/who-we-are/the-saward-dawson-community-foundation/
