Coast Shelter is a leading not-for-profit organisation providing specialist homelessness services and support programs on the NSW Central Coast.
We are a registered Community Housing Provider operating crisis accommodation refuges across the region for people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or experiencing domestic and family violence.
We continue to progress our mission to end homelessness and domestic and family violence on the NSW Central Coast by providing people with a safe place to call home, food and clothing, and access to personal support services.
From humble beginnings, Coast Shelter has grown into an organisation tackling the issues of homelessness, family and domestic violence, and poverty across the NSW Central Coast. Over the last 30 years, we have grown from one refuge in Gosford into a community housing provider with ten specialist homelessness services.
Today, we deliver a number of services designed to tackle the issues of homelessness, domestic and family violence and poverty. Each year we provide crises accommodation through our Specialist Homelessness Services and outreach properties to males, females, children and youth across the Central Coast. Our Community Centre continues to help the most vulnerable people in our Community by providing free meals and access to financial, medical and personal support services.
Coast Shelter is committed to helping people when they need help the most and we thank our generous corporate partners, donors, funding bodies, staff and volunteers for their ongoing support and commitment to ending homelessness on the NSW Central Coast.
Our vision is to end homelessness and domestic and family violence on the NSW Central Coast.
Our mission is to deliver locally designed, innovative solutions to homelessness, domestic and family violence, and poverty to achieve immediate and lasting change.
Four core values drive our work. Trust, Respect, Innovation and Connection.
We are honest, collaborative, responsive, and accountable in everything we do. We believe everyone has the right to a safe, healthier future.
We listen, and we are accepting of others’ differences, cultures, and personal needs.
We are creative, adaptive, and explore new ideas to solve challenges
We develop, value and maintain strong connections with the people we support, our colleagues, and the communities we work in.
Coast Shelter employs staff across the Central Coast. We have a diverse, skills-based Board and Executive team with expertise across government, community and commercial sectors.
Our Board members are responsible for the overall business, management and direction of Coast Shelter. The Board are committed to best practice in governance and accountability.
Rob is an internationally experienced Project Director with over 24 years’ experience working as a Development Manager, Client-side Project Manager and as a qualified chartered civil engineer. He is also Coast Shelter's current Chairperson of the Board. Rob has a successful track record managing, planning and delivering complex projects across a broad range of sectors. This includes design and construction delivery for high-quality medium, large scale and mega developments with the ability to add financial and design value in the areas of commercial and sustainable master-planning, recently in government infrastructure.
B Pod, LLB, Grad. Dip Practice of Laws and Migration Agent Grad. Cert.
Kian has been a volunteer at the Coast Shelter Community Centre for the last 14 years, and a Director of Coast Shelter since 2015. Kian migrated to Australia in 1993 and has been in private practice as a podiatrist. In 2003, she became a registered migration agent and was admitted as a lawyer to the Supreme Court in 2004.
Claire is a social entrepreneur and businesswoman based on the NSW Central Coast. She co-founded Women on Boards in Australia in 2006 and in the UK in 2012, following a career in journalism and public relations. She is an experienced Non-Executive Director on small businesses and large not-for-profit organisations and currently serves on the boards of the global and Australian Women on Boards entities and is President of the Central Coast Conservatorium of Music Inc. She oversights one of the premier board vacancy platforms in Australia and has significant expertise in the governance models of many sectors and organisations.
Jennifer has served on a number of Central Coast business, community, economic development and not for profit boards and has recently retired from the Central Coast Local Health District Board. Jennifer has many years' experience in residential aged care and community care and has worked with the industry, government and the community to promote and enhance the quality of aged care to the frail aged and disadvantaged.Â
Howard is a lawyer and public notary. He holds a PhD in Law from the University of Sydney and is an accredited specialist in government and administrative law. He is currently employed as a principal lawyer with the NSW Department of Customer Service. He is also an experienced teacher having taught extensively at TAFE NSW. He is an adjunct senior lecturer at Charles Sturt University’s Centre for Law and Justice.
BSW, MSW, MEd(Adult), Dip Mgt, MSc(App. Neuroscience)
Carolyn is a social worker and adult educator who has worked in the trauma (child protection / domestic violence) and mental health sectors in Australia and the UK. She has published more than 20 peer reviewed articles in the areas of supervision, clinical practice and management. She was the Assistant Director of Postgraduate Education at the prestigious Tavistock and Portman Clinic in London, and was, until recently the Convener of the Clinical Division of the Australian College of Social Work.Â
Candace is a risk, compliance and assurance professional and a Chartered Professional Accountant (Canada) with close to 20 years of experience with organisations across the globe. Candace has also spent 10 years educating future professional accountants as a post-graduate course facilitator. Since relocating to Australia, Candace has worked across risk, controls and compliance teams with a major financial institution, as a risk management consultant, and most recently as a Director in the Chief Risk Office for the NSW Department of Education. Â
(Dip.Law (LPAB), GDLP, AGIA, GAICD)
As a lawyer with formal Chartered Governance and Governance qualifications, Lyndelle’s passion is consulting to Not-For-Profits Boards in the areas of Governance, Compliance, Regulatory, Policy and Legal Research. She has a particular affinity for charities which are companies limited by guarantee (like Coast Shelter, other shelters, non-government schools and other training institutions etc). She is a Member of NSW Law Society, Graduate member of Governance Institute of Australia and Graduate member of the AICD Company Directors Course. Â
The Executive team is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Coast Shelter.
Lee has an extensive career spanning public, private, and not-for-profit sectors including a NSW Police career of 23 years which culminated in her appointment as Assistant Commissioner (Northern) NSW Police (workforce a.2500) and as General Counsel (Legal) NSW Police.
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Mark is a qualified Social Worker and has worked in the community sector for more than 25 years. Having held senior management roles over the past ten years, he holds significant experience and knowledge in child protection, disability, housing and out-of-home care.
Ashlee truly believes in performance through people and is passionate about coaching and creating exceptional employment experiences and alignment to meaning and purpose across the organisation. Ashlee is an experienced People & Culture professional, with a Bachelor of Human Resource Management from Macquarie University and extensive experience working across FMCG and For-Purpose organisations.
Bachelor of Commerce, Member of Chartered Accountants ANZ
Jason is the Finance Manager and Corporate Secretary for Coast Shelter, where he continues to help the organisation grow as a leading specialist homelessness service on the Central Coast.
Erin has worked across various areas of the marketing and communications industry for over 10 years and has a passion for making communication engaging and simple. She aims to deliver strategic and thought-provoking communication to create connection and positive impact within our community.
Download our most recent annual reports to find out where we’ve been, where we are and where we’re headed.
2022 Annual Report
2021 Annual Report
2020 Annual Report
2018/2019 Annual Report
Coast Shelter is committed to strengthening our relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are the sovereign peoples of this land, and that sovereignty was never ceded. We recognise the structural and historic factors that continue impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia and we have a role in contributing to and promoting the reconciliation movement.
By developing this Reconciliation Action plan, we will improve our services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the community more broadly. We aim to cultivate respect and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities, histories, cultures and knowledge.
We do this by building key partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community organisations and businesses, participation in reconciliation events across the Central Coast, and strengthening the voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within Coast Shelter.
Download our most recent strategic plan to see what we have planned for our people, services and partnerships over the next three years.
