A Bit of History
How VHS Began
We first emerged as Fremantle Volunteer Task Force (FVTF) in 1983. A fledgling branch established by our then ‘parent’ Volunteer Task Force at the request of the (then) Fremantle City Council.
Volunteer Task Force had been established in January 1970 by Dr John and Sandra Penrose following their return from the United Kingdom to take up an appointment in Perth. During their stay in London they came into contact with an entity called Volunteer Task Force and their exposure to this group inspired them to form a similar group in Western Australia wisely using the same name.
Jumping ahead to 1983 and we begin the journey of the organization now known as Volunteer Home Support. (VHS).
FVTF opened its doors in June 1983 at an FCC owned house at 20 Barnett Street, Fremantle for which it paid a peppercorn rent. For the first time it featured as a separate entity in the VTF annual report of that year noting that:
“A high percentage of elderly continue to be the primary users of our services, as with the Leederville branch. ”
On December 16, 1985, saw assent given to the Commonwealth Government’s ground breaking Home and Community Care Act 1985 (HaCC) and this was to profoundly change both VTF and its southern subsidiary FVTF over the following decades.
In October 1996, and proving FVTF could stand on their own, a change of name was decided and Volunteer Home Support was born.