About

Peirson Memorial Trust

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For over 75 years, Peirson Memorial Trust has provided support to children and young people who are at risk through its incorporated company Peirson Services. The Trust was established in 1947 when two sisters of the Peirson Family bequeathed their sugar cane farm to the Trustees of the Ann Street Presbyterian Church in Brisbane, for the purpose of caring for orphans.

Today, Peirson Services continues as a ministry arm of the Ann St Church, to serve young people at risk of entering or in the care of the Child Protection and or Youth Justice systems, as well as their families and carers. Peirson Services currently provides the following services in the Bundaberg Region:

1 Counselling and Intervention Service to children and young people aged 5-18 years and to their families and carers who are referred by the Queensland Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services; this work is underpinned by the Child Protection Act 1999. For our general clients, we receive referrals from doctors, teachers, chaplains and other professionals from the community.

2 Access and Support Youth Services to young people aged 8 to 21 years who are at risk of disengaging from their school, work or family networks.

3 Free youth intervention and counselling services, which includes: children’s group work, parenting workshops, solution-focused family therapy and outdoor therapeutic activities.

4 Peirson Farms currently hosts the Bundaberg Youth Justice T2S program, supported by a youth worker supplied by Peirson Services.

Our services are partially funded by the Queensland Government and the Peirson Memorial Trust from funds raised through the original Peirson Farms, which today is a modern agricultural business growing avocados and macadamias on the outskirts of Bundaberg.

We are seeking to raise funds to ensure that our service can provide help to whoever would seek to access the support they need. If you would like to contribute to our service, please visit our Donate page. All donations over $2 are tax-deductible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Counselling at Peirson Services is free, however we are registered as a deductible gift recipient and welcome any donations to our service.

We welcome all enquiries for support from anyone that is interested, providing that it fits within what we do. If we are not the right service for meeting their needs, we can help them to find the right place.

Absolutely! We want who we support to feel comfortable, so you can definitely bring a willing support person with you.

When you arrive at Peirson Services you will be met by a member of our administrative team. On your first visit you will need to complete some paperwork. Your Counsellor will meet with you and may provide a tour of the service to introduce you to some of our other staff.

We have prepared this video resource that you can use to prepare before visiting us.

This is a time for you and the Counsellor to get to know each other.  You will be able to share what is going on for you that you find challenging as well as sharing some of life’s joyful moments. Counsellors work with you to create goals, which are areas of change that are within your control. We will then work with you to come up with a plan as to how you may be able to reach some of these goals. The plan or strategies will contribute to supporting you to feel more positive around your current circumstances.

As counselling is voluntary, this is really up to you and can be discussed with your counsellor. Some people only want or need a few sessions, and sometimes your counselling journey can take a bit longer.

Clients can self-refer, and other professionals can refer on their behalf (for example a school, a paediatrician or other professional organisations). Our service is partially funded by the Department of Child, Youth Justice and Multicultural affairs and referrals can come directly from this avenue.

We ask that a parent/ guardian accompany any client under the age of 18 for the first appointment so that the necessary consent forms are completed. Other than that, clients do not need to bring anything.

We are located about a 5-minute walk from Hinkler Central. There is parking onsite, with disability access to the building and facilities.

Counsellors use a trauma informed, client-centred approach to learning and change and each Counsellor has a unique way of working with clients.