After more than 70 years on the front line of work with youth, the famed St Kilda PCYC stands at a crossroads. Last week, PCYC CEO Chris Potaris announced that the Board had made the momentous decision to sell their Inkerman Street property as part of a strategy to refocus the charity on building a statewide PCYC service.
The announcement and the rapid shutdown of gym programs shocked many involved, especially the senior participants and local parents. Many hearts were heavy, and some were very angry.
In a lengthy and exclusive interview with TWiSK, Potaris emphasized that something needed to change. He explained that the organization was hemorrhaging money with monthly losses in the $25,000 range. “The only thing that’s keeping the doors open are the proceeds from the sale of a former boarding house located adjacent to the gym,” he said.
That sale was completed in August last year, and coincidentally, the unoccupied building was devastated by fire just a few weeks ago.
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire
With hindsight, the sale of an adjacent property last year to sustain recurrent operations was a clear sign of an impending crisis. TWiSK understands that only a few years ago, PCYC had plans to acquire another adjacent property (currently a doctor’s surgery) to create a youth accommodation and services hub.
We don’t know why that dream faded, but we do know that the Board recruited Potaris in November last year to help them meet their obligations and steer a course to the future.
Potaris told TWiSK that the clue to that course is in the name. “Not everybody knows that PCYC stands for Police Citizens Youth Club. From the beginning in 1947, the PCYC’s unique formula was inviting the local police and youth to be partners rather than opponents.”
“It’s such a successful strategy that in NSW and Queensland there are amazing networks of PCYCs operating. In Queensland, there are nearly 60 centres, many with full-time police officers involved in the programs. The relationship with the police is what makes PCYCs unique and successful. No one else does anything like this with the police and youth.”
Potaris has a lengthy background in not-for-profits, mostly in the west of Melbourne. Prior to working for the PCYC, his most recent position was with COTA – a well-known seniors-focused lobby. He also served as CEO at the Committee for Wyndham and spent over 12 years with Victoria Police.
Putting these facts together illustrates the attractiveness of the new CEO to a Board in trouble. It also supports the big dream of transforming a single PCYC into a statewide organisation.
“At a time when youth offending is firmly in the headlines, the PCYC philosophy of youth and police couldn’t be more relevant. We’ve got a proven model that could help many communities with statewide support,” he said.
Potaris has already registered several Melbourne-based PCYC names in anticipation.
“We could go from helping dozens of young people in St Kilda to many thousands across Victoria, something that our founders would be very proud of,” he said.
[Since our interview] St Kilda PCYC has called on the state government to provide immediate and significant funding to match the level of support provided to PCYCs in other states. They also revealed that the PCYC held talks with the City of Port Phillip last month, requesting them to purchase the building to keep it open for the community, but council declined. [See media statement]
Rescuers or corporate raiders?
The shocking announcement, just a few weeks before halting many programs (including primary school sports programs), has prompted a sceptical response in some quarters.
Balaclava local and PCYC gym member Dr. Gerry McLoughlin sent an angry email in response to the announcements: “Extremely disappointing! The woman who started this unique and profoundly community-based enterprise would be rolling in her grave. Your shallow ambitions disgust me; you’re a bean counter seeking to build your ‘state-based PCYC’ empire.”
Mr. Potaris responded by stating that her email breached the PCYC code of conduct and suspended her membership. Communications rapidly deteriorated into a negative standoff.
McLoughlin told TWiSK she was shocked by the response. She had dreaded the CEOs appointment and knew something like this was in the wings.
“He does not know what they are destroying – much more than a mere building,” she said.
“You should ask how much the CEO gets paid and why a local gym CEO needs an executive assistant,” she suggested.
“If the sale goes ahead, we lose a precious part of this place that carries such a long history of care for the community in so many ways, including the youth, but also all generations mixing in a supportive environment,” Dr. McLoughlin said.
What offends McLoughlin the most is the brutality of the process.
“Community-minded leadership would have invited participants to be part of the solution rather than abandon them as the problem.”
“Why was the board made up of three accountants and an investor; people with business backgrounds rather than youth and community experience or, at the very least, creative financing capabilities?
“It was also very surprising that Mr. Potaris holds two roles: one as CEO and the other as Secretary and the fifth member of the board.”
Is there hope for another way?
The 77-year history of St Kilda PCYC is not only a product of their founder’s passion but also the sustained investment by the community, including volunteers, youth, police, and levels of government.
Local MP Josh Burns has joined the discussion, calling for the Board to pause the sale, return to the table, and give the community a chance to secure this facility’s future.
In a statement on Thursday, he branded the sale decision as a shameful betrayal of their mission and the community that helps to build and sustain this irreplaceable asset.
“Despite public statements by the CEO of St Kilda PCYC, I am well aware that local government had offered pathways to cover modest building repairs over the next two years,” he said.
Burns said his office stood ready to continue supporting the valued Boxing for Parkinson’s Program through to at least July 2026 and helping them to explore long-term funding pathways.
“That support was not followed through, and the CEO’s most recent statement that offers for support, GoFundMe page offers, and similar offers should not, and will not be pursued raises additional concerns as to whether they are genuinely interested in saving this facility,” Burns concluded.
CEO Potaris punches back
In response to Burns, Potaris provided a statement that the MPs support of the boxing program was $1000 in the context of a program that costs $3500 per month to deliver.
He also disputed the assertion that council had offered funding for building repairs saying ‘not once was this either expressed to me in writing or during 6 face-to-face meetings with the City of Port Phillip’.
‘The Board and I have a laser focus on rebranding and rebuilding this amazing youth charity to model the success of other state-based PCYC’s,’ he stressed.
‘Most emails and responses I have received have been heartfelt, caring, and full of offers for support, GoFundMe page offers, and similar offers. For this, I sincerely thank those wonderful people. Unfortunately, these types of interventions would only serve as band-aid solutions and not address the core issue that our business model is manifestly flawed and has almost resulted in our permanent closure.’
From boxing ring to round table?
TWiSK, impressed by the recent community safety roundtable, wonders if a similar approach could be used to save what’s worth saving from the PCYC’s crisis point.
That would involve getting PCYC leaders in a room with participants, funders, and supporters to explore a shared way forward in good faith.
TWiSK would be happy to help in any way.
Herald Sun reports impact on school kids
[Herald Sun 13 September] St Kilda Primary School’s budding basketball stars have been dealt another blow after [the PCYC] community gym announced it would cease its programs, leaving local teams without a training venue.
The school has been without a multipurpose hall and gym for a number of years since their hall was demolished to make way for a new hall that has yet to be built.
Twenty-two local basketball teams, mostly made up of St Kilda Primary School students, have since relied on the St Kilda PCYC Inkerman St gym to participate in their beloved sport – including nine teams who train there weekly.
But from next month, they will no longer have a space to shoot hoops after the St Kilda PCYC announced that unfunded programs would cease and the facility would be sold.
