FAQ

Our fresh food hampers are available Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 1 pm and 3 pm. EAPA appointments are available on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for individuals experiencing short term financial crisis. Please call our office on 02 4782 1555 for more information and to book an appointment or email info@thriveservices.org.au

Our service is open to all residents of Blue Mountains and Lithgow who are a family. Some programs are only available for parents with a child under 18 years of age; our emergency assistance is for families living between Bullaburra and Katoomba.

Fresh food is available Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays after 1pm (except public holidays). We access food from supermarkets through Second Bite. This is free to all residents in need from our office at 2 Station Street Katoomba. No ID is needed for fresh food

Please note we cannot put bags aside as supplies are limited

Food cards are available from Katoomba Thrive Office to assist with the cost of food for families.

A food card can be obtained every three months for residents living in the Katoomba to Bullaburra area. BANC in Blackheath offer food cards for residents living above Katoomba and Winmalee Neighbourhood Centre offers food cards from Hazelbrook to Lapstone

To apply for a food card you must show the workers an income statement from Centrelink, Bank Statement or Bank balance and one (1) form of ID. You can apply for a food card once every three (3) months.

Thrive is a provider of EAPA vouchers to assist with the cost of these bills

To apply for an EAPA subsidy you must be experiencing a short term financial crisis and provide us with your original bill and one form of photo ID. You can be eligible for assistance twice per financial year for each utility bill. Please call to check if you are eligible on 47821555.

Thrive Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) workers can assist family groups in the Blue Mountains who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. We work closely with families, through case management, to secure long term sustainable housing. To book an appointment or ask for advice you can call 47821555 Monday to Friday 9am-4pm except public holidays. For out of hours emergencies call the crisis accommodation phone line Link2home 1800 152 152. If you are a single person needing housing support, you can either ring Link2home or contact Link Wentworth’s Adult homelessness service on 4777 8041 or community.services@linkwentworth.org.au

Thrive family workers can provide support for you for parenting concerns in your home, or at our offices in Katoomba and Lithgow. Some of the more typical concerns might be managing an anxious child or a shy child, difficulty maintaining routines, balancing a family budget in these times, developing peer skills in children and deciding whether an issue needs to be explored further with specialists.

As well as one to one support, Thrive run several programs and activities you can book into. Check our events page to keep up to date with our programs.

Supported Playgroups

Supported playgroups are an informal play session where you can meet other parents and your child can enjoy quality play experiences that support your child to build friendships and develop skills essential for starting school.

Playgroups are free and you can drop in anytime

• Blackheath Playgroup Wednesday afternoons during term time. See our event page for more details.

Thrive Services have a set of policies and procedures that support staff to deliver a quality professional and confidential services. If you have any questions, please check our confidentiality statement here.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of our service, you can fill out our feedback form here or you can speak to one of our team by phoning 47821555.

If you are interested in volunteering with Thrive Services, please complete the expressions of interest form here and a team member will be in touch about current vacancies. 

Our volunteer program can provide you with logbooks for recording your tasks, and skills to assist you in developing essential work experience for jobseekers.

Student placement enquiries are welcome, and we try to accommodate as many as possible. Please send details to info@thriveservices.org.au.

All staff working at Thrive have the necessary qualifications in welfare or community services to deliver a professional, quality service. To see our current staff profiles, please check Our Team.

The Lithgow team provide family and parenting support. We also can provide EAPA vouchers on appointment.