As KYDS Youth Counselling marks its 20th anniversary in 2025, we take a moment to reflect on our journey – a story of vision, resilience and community spirit. What began as a grassroots initiative has grown into a vital support network for young people and their families, ensuring accessible, long-term mental health care for those who need it most.
A vision takes shape
KYDS’ roots trace back to 2000, when a group of dedicated members of the Rotary Club of Lindfield identified an urgent need for accessible youth mental health support in their community.
Led by Geoffrey Basser, Don Durie, Joe Adendorff, Ian Calder, Stewart Grant, Harry Smith, David Blackwell, Ian Hope, Colin Farrah, Hugh Hamlyn-Harris, David Morris and Frank Windeyer, along with Rotary President Ian Hope, this passionate group worked tirelessly to bring their vision to life. The team spent years advocating, fundraising and securing charitable status for what would become Ku-ring-gai Youth Development Service Inc., an organisation providing free, accessible and confidential counselling for children and young people in the local area.
With crucial support from Ku-ring-gai Council – especially Councillor Maureen Shelley and Danny Houseas – KYDS secured its first location and headquarters beneath Lindfield Library.
From fundraising to the first client
By the end of January 2005, our first Management Committee was appointed, with Professor David Bennett serving as Chair. The Rotarians had also raised $125,000, including a $50,000 Federal Government grant thanks to the advocacy of then-member for Bradfield, Dr Brendan Nelson. This funding enabled KYDS to hire its first counsellor, Jane Davidson, who welcomed our very first client on 31 March 2005.
Within just three months, demand had already outpaced capacity – a testament to the critical need for our services.
Growing through challenges
Over the years, increasing demand for our unique service has presented ongoing funding challenges. In 2011, KYDS faced a significant funding hurdle that threatened closure. However, the incredible generosity of the community – through donations, grants and events, including a $45,000 Ku-ring-gai Council grant and a Comedy Debate fundraiser hosted by then-member for Bradfield, Paul Fletcher – helped KYDS not only survive but emerge stronger. In 2021, another funding challenge loomed, once again reinforcing that funding is never guaranteed and highlighting the importance of ongoing community support to sustain our services.
Expanding our mission
While counselling remained at KYDS’ core, our mission quickly grew to include education and prevention. Partnering with local schools, we introduced programs on anger management, digital citizenship and mental health awareness – laying the foundation for KYDS to become a leader in early intervention. We also took an active role in training psychology and counselling interns, giving back to the community and further contributing to the mental health field.
KYDS has vastly expanded its reach and impact over the years, offering counselling support in numerous locations and pioneering holistic approaches to mental health. In 2012 our name changed to KYDS Youth Development Service to better reflect our broader geographical reach. By May 2013, KYDS had already supported its 1000th client, with countless more reached through school and community programs. From 2016-2018, we averaged 2240 counselling sessions per year, surpassing 3000 in 2019. In July that year, KYDS started offering support to children under the age of 12, and in August introduced Saturday sessions at our Lindfield office.
Resilience through the pandemic
KYDS was well-prepared when COVID-19 hit, having already explored the introduction of telehealth services. In April 2020 we launched online counselling, giving young people the flexibility to choose the support option that suited them best. That September, we established our first Youth Advisory Committee (YAC), ensuring that young voices were at the heart of our service improvements and fundraising initiatives. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, KYDS delivered a record-breaking 5462 sessions in 2020 – a 63% increase from the previous year.
By 2023, demand continued to surge, with our team delivering an incredible 7437 free counselling sessions to vulnerable youth. That year we also tweaked our name to KYDS Youth Counselling, to more clearly reflect our focus on youth mental health.
A milestone year in 2025
Now, as we celebrate our 20th birthday, we have much to be grateful for. In the past year alone, KYDS surpassed a record 10,500 counselling sessions and received its 4000th referral – half of which have come since 2018. Since opening our doors, we have provided more than 54,000 free counselling sessions, changing countless lives along the way.
This incredible journey would not have been possible without the dedicated visionaries, donors and supporters, volunteers and staff who have shaped KYDS into what it is today. As we look ahead to the future, we remain committed to empowering young people and their families to seek mental health support, transforming lives in the process.
Here’s to 20 years of impact – and many more to come!