Laurie Matthews with Patrick Lim, President of the Maroubra Rotary Club.
On 20 March, 2017, Caretakers Cottage CEO, Laurie Matthews, spoke to the Maroubra Rotary Club about the work of Caretakers Cottage and the plight of homeless children and young people in Sydney.
On the invitation of Dr. Michael Pusey, Professor of Sociology at Macquarie University, Laurie addressed the members of the Rotary Club of the mission of Caretakers Cottage, the organisation's history, its work with disadvantaged children and young people.
The central topic discussed is the increasing challenges to parenting in the 21st Century. Laurie, who had seen a fair share of students at various private schools in the Eastern Suburbs stay at the crisis refuge in the past four decades, stressed that the organisation recognised that many parents are struggling to raise their childtren to become functioning and independent adults. Laurie stated that parents often have increased feelings of hopelessness once their children are labelled as "ADHD" (or some other diagnostic label) and begin acting up as teens.