Emerge recently embraced the privilege of undertaking pro bono work for a courtyard upgrade for the Mission Australia DAYS Youth Withdrawal and Respite Centre in East Perth, which officially opened on November 4.

DAYS (Drug and Alcohol Youth Service) youth outreach program supports young people aged 12-21 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, with a holistic people centred approach and a comprehensive range of free and confidential alcohol and other drug services.

Mission Australia’s East Perth centre was calling out for a fresh outdoor space. In April 2019 Property Council Australia raised $12,000 to contribute to the upgrade of the courtyard space at the East Perth Centre. In July 2019 our landscape team undertook a workshop with Mission Australia to understand the courtyard’s use/needs and responded with 3 design options. The successful design was produced by three of our talented landscape architects Yuhong Chang, Mike Missikos and Zac Fried, and a team of co-collaborators was recruited to deliver the project.

The project relied heavily on donated materials and/or labour to meet the budget. Special thanks to LD Total for coordinating the construction and donating in time equivalent to the budget expended.  Special mention and thanks to our Project Managers Gary Donnelly and Monika Fitzpatrick from Mission Australia.

We think the new courtyard looks fantastic and the centre’s staff and clients do too!

Thank you to our project contributors:

Property Council Australia for sponsoring Mission Australia
LD Total for construction and donated labour
Rural Stone for paving supplies
Benara Nurseries for donated plants
Churchlands Lawn and Garden Maintenance for donated planting labour