Open Doors Youth ServiceOpen Doors Youth ServiceWho can Open Doors help? Open Doors provides support to LGBTIQ+ young people aged 12 to 24. Different programs have different eligibility criteria
How do I access services from Open Doors? To access any of our services, including groups, please complete our online referral form. When we contact you, you may be asked to complete a screening call to determine your level of priority, eligibility and suitability for our service. If suitable, you then will be invited to attend an in-depth intake appointment which may be several weeks after your screening call depending on appointment availability.
What does Open Doors do? Open Doors as a range of programs that can provide varying levels of support for LGBTIQ young people. We also run a number of different social and psychosocial groups. The type of services we provide include:
What cant Open Doors do? Unfortunately, due to a lack of funding and resources, Open Doors is not able to do the following:
If Open Doors can’t help me, where else can I get support? See a list of other LGBTIQ resources and referrals here.
Do I need my parents permission to access Open Doors? No, you do not need your parents permission or consent to access Open Doors no matter how old you are. We will not share any information about you to your parents without your explicit consent.
Do I need a Medicare Card to access Open Doors? No, you do not need a Medicare Card to access Open Doors
How much does support from Open Doors cost? There is no cost to access any services from Open Doors.
I want to attend an Open Doors group, do I need to make a referral? Yes, you need to complete a referral and attend an intake appointment before you can attend our groups.
How long do I need to wait after I make a referral for an intake? There are times when we have many young people wanting to access our services which means that there sometimes is a longer wait. If you aren’t sure if your referral has been received, please contact us.
Why do I need to do an intake?
I have completed an intake, now what? You will receive a welcome email that will introduce you to your key worker and provide you with information on how to connect to our groups. If you are receiving individual support, your key worker will contact you to make your first appointment.
How do I contact my support worker?
How do I make an appointment?
Can Open Doors visit me at home/school etc?
Can Open Doors do support online or by phone?
Do I need to complete a referral to access groups? Yes, a referral needs to be summitted to access any type of support from Open Doors, including our groups.
How do I register to attend groups? To protect the safety of young people, we don’t publicly share our group registration link. This information would have been shared with you after you completed your intake appointment. If you can’t find this information, please contact your key worker or contact us for information on how to register for groups.
Can I just turn up to groups? No, even after you have completed an intake you need to register to attend a group. You will be given information on how to register for groups after you complete your intake. If you can’t find this information, ask your key worker or contact us and we share this information with you.
Do I need to register to attend groups? Yes, you need to register to attend groups. This is because we need to make sure that we have enough space and supervision for young people who attend our groups. Registering also means you will get an last minute updates to any group changes. If you don’t register, you may not be let in.
Can I bring a friend to the group? Only young people who are clients of Open Doors can come to our groups. If your friend wants to come to groups, they need to complete a referral and wait to complete an intake before coming along.
The group I want to go to is full, can I still come? No, if the group is full there is no more space and you aren’t able to still come. Register early to avoid disappointment!
I can’t come to a group I registered for, do I need to cancel? Yes, please cancel your group booking if you can no longer come. This allows other young people to attend in your spot. Open Doors has minimal administration support, so please cancel this yourself on the booking platform rather than emailing us.
Why do I need to register to attend groups? Due to the size of our space and the number of staff and volunteers, we can only support a certain number of young people in our space at any one time. We need young people to register to attend so we know how many people will be coming and to make sure that not too many people come that we cant support.
Can I have a support worker attend groups with me? Yes, if you need support to access our groups, you have a support worker attend with you. Please let us know that a support worker will be attending with you.
My child accesses ODYS, can you tell me information about them? We can only share information about a young person accessing our services if we have that young person’s explicit consent. This includes their parents. If we have not received consent to share information with you, we cannot share any information with you.
My child is a client of Open Doors, should I arrange appointments for my child?
I think my child would benefit from seeing Open Doors, but they don’t want to, what do I do? Open Doors is a voluntary service, so a young person has to want to engage with us for us to provide them with support. If they aren’t wanting to see us, unfortunately we cannot force them to engage with us. Attending our Parents & Carers group may help you learn how you can support them and encourage them to seek support if they are struggling.
My child is in crisis, what should I do? Can you see them now?
Do I need my parents permission to access Open Doors? No, you do not need your parents permission or consent to access Open Doors no matter how old you are. We will not share any information about you to your parents without your explicit consent.