History of Rough Edges

1987 : St John’s Anglican Church opened PJ’s cafe in the basement of St Peter’s Church hall in Darlinghurst. PJ’s was no ordinary coffee shop. It was ‘for people not profits’, helping the community of Kings Cross living with complex social and mental health issues. Many had gender and sexuality issues combined with drug and alcohol problems, homelessness and risk of homelessness. PJ’s was a safe inclusive place for sex workers and the transgender community to step off the street for respite.

1992 : The site in which PJ’s operated was sold and the search began to find a new site. After extensive searching, St John’s realised they could convert and renovate some of their existing property. They opened the parish hall basement opening onto Victoria Street. This new venue was named ‘Rough Edges’ or ‘Roughies’ as it is affectionately known and the visitors were referred to as patrons.

1996 : Rough Edges opened its doors to the public. It was only open at night during this period. Many of the first volunteers were from the St John’s congregation and the street community. The mission statement and ethos of Rough Edges was developed by the people involved at the first training course held for volunteers. One of the earliest challenges faced at Rough Edges was related to violence. There was a strong ethos of non-violence and patrons were encouraged to work towards reconciliation and forgiveness with accountability. This was very different from what many patrons were experiencing on the streets or had experienced in their early family and personal relationships. Over time, Rough Edges has become greatly valued by patrons as a safe place and the practice of non-violence is now upheld by the patrons themselves.

2002 : Originally the St John’s secretary administered food and prescription vouchers to those in need through the upstairs office window until it became clear that this was not an efficient way to manage the needs of many people seeking assistance. It was decided that a welfare worker would be employed and they would provide welfare out of another office window. It was then agreed that this method lacked dignity for the patrons and the community assistance program was moved to Rough Edges. There was clearly a need to provide more services to patrons so a new daytime program began, called the Community Assistance and Partnership Program (CAPP).

2006 : Rough Edges was approached by Anglicare with a suggestion that the two enter into a partnership that enabled Anglicare to administer its emergency relief funds to people living in the inner city. It was agreed that Rough Edges would no longer supply emergency relief, as Anglicare would now provide this. This change would enable the Rough Edges team to concentrate on offering casework, while volunteers continued to provide hospitality and a listening ear to those visiting.

2017 : In the year of their ‘21st ‘birthday’ at the Victoria Street location, Rough Edges commissioned a mural to be painted by local artists on the exterior wall. This colourful work is still in place today and is much loved by patrons, staff, volunteers and community.

2020 : St John’s Community Services who run Rough Edges expanded their service offering to incorporate Banksia Women for women who have experienced domestic and family violence. Today Rough Edges is open two days and six nights per week. We have a community of 140 volunteers who run the night service and support the day service.

This is a short overview of the history of Rough Edges. There are countless stories of celebrations, losses, disasters, glories, failures, love, and sorrow that are told and remembered in many contexts. Throughout this history, hundreds of lives have been touched and changed at ‘Roughies’.

We give thanks to those who have gone before us and the street community who have welcomed us and taught us so much.

PERSONAL GROWTH | CONNECTION | SAFETY | HOSPITALITY