Jules Vandyke

For more than 25 years, Jules Vandyke has been assisting the youth of Australia. Exhibiting a strong desire to help disadvantaged youth and people with mental health issues in Australia, Jules Vandyke has pursued academic coursework and committed herself professionally to the task. Jules Vandyke’s career has afforded her considerable insight into means of assisting at-risk youth. As a member of the National Employment Services Association, an organisation supported by the Australian government and various industry leaders, Jules Vandyke sat on the Association’s special interest group focusing on best practice for working with young people. After completing studies at the New South Wales Institute of Psychiatry in Sydney, Jules Vandyke earned an Adolescent Mental Health Certificate in 1988. Jules Vandyke previously served as Chief Executive Officer of InnerSkill, an organisation that provided employment services to youth with mental illnesses. During her tenure at InnerSkill, Jules Vandyke oversaw the provision of employment services, training services, and youth services. She also supervised the Youth Space Programme, providing education services for young people who fell through the cracks of the traditional education system and were at risk for homelessness. Jules Vandyke observed that more than 70 percent of students participating in Youth Space’s schooling programme presented some kind of mental health issue, including anxiety, depression, psychotic disturbance, and drug and alcohol dependence. Managing each young case with a holistic approach, Jules Vandyke’s team provided assistance to these youth by addressing vocational barriers to employment such as housing and lack of transitional support and mental health services. Partnering with another nonprofit organisation, Regenesis, the programme saw early successes in increased ability for youths to remain in school and enhanced early identification of mental health issues and risk factors. InnerSkill later merged with Communicare, now a national provider of social support services in Australia. Following the merger, Communicare invited Jules Vandyke to serve as its State Manager of New South Wales. Bringing the experience obtained at InnerSkill with her to Communicare, Jules Vandyke continues to focus on the mental health and youth-specific factors that prevent many Australians from attaining full employment.