Ted Noffs Foundation

Founded as the Wayside Foundation in 1971 in Sydney by the Reverend Ted Noffs and his wife, Margaret, which provides drug and alcohol services for young people in Australia.

In 1964, Reverend Noffs, together with his wife Margaret, opened the Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross at a time when the area was fast becoming a magnet for disaffected youth, the home of the red light district, illegal gambling and drug culture.

The growing drug culture of the 1970s and the devastation it caused to people on and around the streets of Kings Cross created deep concern for those working at the coalface of humanity.

In 1971, Ted and Margaret Noffs founded the Wayside Foundation, a charitable organisation dedicated to providing a range of prevention and treatment services to the most vulnerable in society including drug-affected young people.

The outreach work to the young people, disadvantaged, homeless and drug addicted residents of the Cross continued with the establishment of the Shepherd of the Streets program.

Both had come to believe that appropriate scientific research should assess the needs of any prevention or treatment program, be integral to the development of its structure and delivery and also evaluate its effectiveness and efficiency in both the short and long terms.

Concerned that there was little support for young people who had completed their residential treatment and returned to the community, Noffs launched a continuing care program.

Designed as an early intervention facility, it offered a range of creative, vocational and therapeutic programs that would engage difficult to reach young people and bring them into our services.

This “non-traditional” health setting provided counselling to the young people that delivered a significant decrease in drug use and crime and an increase in mental well-being.

A second Street University was established at Mt Druitt providing much needed support to the thousands of disadvantaged young people in the Western Sydney region.

Also in 2014, the Ted Noffs Foundation began advocating for pill testing at music festivals throughout the country as an essential harm reduction strategy.

Many years of work came to fruition in April 2018, when Noffs, with the full backing of the ACT Government, led Australia’s first legal pill testing service at the Groovin the Moo music festival.

They are non-residential treatment centres based throughout NSW, ACT and QLD to help young people aged 12–25 who have drug, crime and mental health related issues.

A recent study by UNSW of The Street University over a period of time showed that, not only did the program effectively engage at-risk young people, but also significantly reduced drug use and psychological distress and notably improved overall wellbeing.

A key component of CALM is the use of “Facebook” to maintain open communication with clients and provide ongoing support as well as information and resources on health and lifestyle issues.

All Ted Noffs Foundation facilities offer drug and alcohol and mental health counselling services to young people and their families.

This First Australians-specific program operates in Western Sydney and provides an early intervention service, one-to-one counselling and facilitates small group workshops.

The program uses a range of practical and effective methods such as fishing, bushwalking, sports and swimming activities to engage and build trust with Indigenous young people.