Marist Youth Care has over 100 years experience helping young people at risk in Australia. With a close association with the Society of St Vincent de Paul, especially in the early days, Marist Youth Care has developed into one of the largest service providers for youth at risk in Australia today.
 1891
The Surry Hills Conference of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, headed by Patrick Joseph Minahan, rented a cottage to take in children who were living on the streets and in danger of being locked away.
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 1896
In partnership with the Society of St Vincent de Paul, the Marist Brothers established St Vincent's Boys Home at Westmead for orphaned or homeless boys. The boys were given an education and the opportunity to learn a trade or work on the farm.
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 1940's
The Home had become a large institution. With an increasing focus on education, the buildings were extended so that the boys had the resources to reach the equivalent of today's School Certificate.
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 1950's
The last of the trade training opportunities ceased. St Vincent's operated like a small boarding school for disadvantaged boys.
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 1960's
The school inside the Home was discontinued and the number of boys housed there was reduced. In 1968, the Society of St Vincent de Paul formally withdrew from the partnership in operating St Vincent's Boys Home.
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 1970's
Foster care became the preference for children living out of home. The closure of homes for younger children resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of children at St Vincent's. Up to now, St Vincent's had mainly provided care for Catholic children. Now, it started offering placements to the wider community in western Sydney.
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 1980's
St Vincent's developed into a professional family restoration program, offering service to the wider community without discrimination. In 1985, it moved from the old site into houses in the community. In 1981, The Siding opened as our first youth refuge, catering for the needs of young homeless people in the Nepean area.
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 1994
The Marist Social Welfare work was incorporated as a legal entity known as Marist Community Services. The work was still owned by the Trustees of the Marist Brothers. However, it had its own constitution and Board of Directors.
Following the closure of the departmental homes for state wards, Marist started providing services under a newly introduced contracting system.
In
2002,
to reflect its focus on the needs of young people, the Agency changed its name to Marist Youth Care Ltd.
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 2010
Marist Youth Care employs 300 staff and volunteers, and cares for up to 1,000 young people and their families every year. A carefully developed ‘continuum of care’ model enables Marist Youth Care to offer a variety of out of home residential services as well as outreach and educational services.
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 2011
In 2011 Marist Youth Care established its Unaccompanied Minors Program. This group of young people are amongst the most vulnerable of asylum seekers, often suffering emotional trauma, isolation and mental illness. They have all endured periods of time in immigration detention. Marist Youth Care provides accommodation and support services to these young people aged 12-18 while they are waiting for the outcome of their visa determination process.
2011 also saw the re-establishment of the Alkira Mums program, funded by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. This program is open to Aboriginal mums living in Western Sydney. It provides free transport, support and training to Aboriginal mums seeking employment. The program provides mothers with vocational skills and training in a Certificate III in Hospitality with the goal of attaining employment. The mums were also involved in a social enterprise activity of developing, marketing and selling a recipe booklet.
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