When Cath Bartolo, YFS’ previous CEO, retired in 2023, she had been supporting the organisation for 34 years.
“I remember coming to my first AGM in 1989, the same year I moved to Woodridge as a Presentation Sister,’ says Cath. “Soon after, I volunteered with YFS’ management committee, then became Chair in the early 1990s.”
Cath had moved to Logan to teach at Centre Ed, the first Edmund Rice Flexi school, which offered alternative education for young people who had been suspended or expelled from other schools.
“We got to know the students’ families very well and realised those families needed opportunities to overcome being marginalised in society.
“We were trying to help their young people get an education, but if there was poverty, drugs, alcohol, and violence at home, not a lot was changing.”
Cath’s interest in community services grew, and she pursued further studies in social work before leaving the Sisters and travelling overseas. When she returned, a short term job in disability services caught her eye.
“It was only meant to be temporary, a job in the school holidays, but I ended up staying for six years.”
When the disability service Cath worked for merged with YFS in 1996, Cath became YFS’ Disability Coordinator, then CEO in 2002.
As Cath led YFS, she found herself incorporating many of the same community-orientated values she had seen her parents practise in their medium-sized family business.
“Growing up, we would have a new apprentice working with us each year. They would become like family.”
And as YFS grew, new employees were attracted to the supportive workplace culture and YFS’ strong reputation within the community.
“At YFS we tried to look after our staff and create employment opportunities for local people, including clients, wherever we could. I did see it as [like] a family business, but a very big family by the time I left.”
As well as caring for staff, Cath is proud of YFS’ commitment to welcoming feedback from clients and listening carefully to their needs.
“We’ve always welcomed complaints because through them we’ve learned a lot about how to improve our practice. We’ve also addressed systemic weaknesses through our evaluations, which is so valuable, and been able to share what we have learned with others.”
Client feedback also identified strengths, like how YFS was prepared to work with people even when circumstances were tough, which led to the organisation adopting steadfastness as a core value.
And as YFS listened to clients and continued evaluating the impact of programs, staff found plenty of ways to creatively support their clients.
“There have been many memorable moments. One was when Tony Sharp, who was working in our youth team, responded to young people who were getting suspended and expelled from school.
“He recognised there were gaps in our community where very vulnerable people weren’t able to get a regular job straight away. He came up with the concept of Substation33, which would create pathways to sustainable employment — and be good for the environment.”
Another memorable moment was when a group of passionate young people began meeting with YFS, keen to develop a program to educate other youth about building healthy relationships free from violence.
“Going to Canberra in 2019 and seeing the R4Respect team recognised with a national award was a real honour.”
Cath also reflects on some of the very difficult periods, like when YFS made the viability decision to discontinue their work in disability services following the introduction of the NDIS.
“We didn’t see how we could treat our disability workers fairly, the same as our other staff, under the new model. It was hard to say goodbye to staff and clients — we had worked with some for 22 years.”
Another challenging period in the latter years of Cath’s time as CEO was leading YFS when it was operating as an essential service during the pandemic.
“I was proud that we didn’t close our doors, although we did have to do things differently. Every day, we would have pandemic meetings and sort out logistics.”
“At one point our meeting room was being used for food distribution, before supermarkets started delivering groceries. It wasn’t something YFS would traditionally do, but we were responding to an urgent need in partnership with Logan City Council.”
Cath was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2022 for her service to the Logan community and when she retired from YFS in 2023 members of parliament, council, staff, clients, and representatives from partner organisations gathered to honour her at a heartfelt event.
Two years on, as Cath reflects on her time with YFS, she credits strong partnerships as a critical feature of how YFS impacted the Logan community. One of the partnerships she is particularly thankful for is with Logan Elders, who, in partnership with YFS First Nations staff and YFS management were instrumental in YFS developing a First Nations Cultural Framework.
Cath believes a collaborative spirit is also a strength of Logan as a community, as demonstrated in initiatives like Logan City of Choice, which brought all three levels of government, the private sector, and community services together from 2013-2022 to develop a vision for the city. “It’s not something you see everywhere,” she says.
Other partnerships Cath recognises as especially significant were between YFS and the Department of Housing, Queensland Corrections, the Queensland Police Service, other community services, and philanthropic organisations.
“And having a worker from Services Australia join us to support clients. It was incredible to be chosen as a partner in that initiative. There have been so many amazing partnerships at YFS.”
Cath’s final thoughts, however, are for the community of clients, staff, and Board Directors she cared for like family.
“By being at YFS for a long time, I was privileged to see the changes that occurred in our clients’ lives over many years. They would return to YFS to tell us about their employment, their homes, and their children’s education – a result of YFS’ influence in their lives.
“These changes demonstrated the long-term impacts of YFS’ presence in Logan. It’s not something witnessed overnight.”
The skills, resilience, and steadfastness of YFS staff were also instrumental in encouraging Cath to continue as CEO for 22 years, as was the wisdom and support she received from YFS’ dedicated Board Directors.
“Clients, staff, the Board – I stayed so long because of their commitment.”
