An entertaining early morning event awakens hope for young people.

On Thursday 26 May 2016, Tabcorp Park Melton, in partnership with Hope Street Youth and Family Services, hosted a fantastic Corporate Breakfast MC’ed by Rob Auber. The Corporate Breakfast provided the business community with the opportunity to learn more about how homelessness affects young people and the wider community, and how their business/company could assist Hope Street to build a new supported crisis accommodation centre for young people experiencing homelessness in Melton.

Guest Speaker Campbell Brown, Hawthorn Football Club Premiership Player, captivated breakfast attendees with his stories of the successes, challenges and controversies of his 205 game AFL career. Speaking about his experience with entering and building his football career, Mr Brown highlighted the strengths of persistence, focus and determination to achieve personal goals – characteristics that Hope Street recognise and develop in the young people achieving positive life changes through our programs.

Hope Street CEO, Donna Bennett, revealed that there was a vital need for a crisis accommodation service to support vulnerable young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in the City of Melton. Ms Bennett spoke about the Hope Street led community campaign over the past two years to establish a purpose built crisis accommodation and support service for young people. Success so far has included in principle support from the Melton City Council to provide land and the Victorian Government announcing, in the recent State Budget, the funding of the operational component. With the strong support of key community stakeholders, Ms Bennett highlighted the need for support from the business community of Melton for the actual build of the centre via monetary donations, supply of materials (in kind or at cost), supply of labour, building expertise and the like.

Photo Album

Other speakers included Victoria Police Inspector Katherine Rudkins, and Mitchell and Lee from our Hope Street in Melton program who gave an insight into the impact of homelessness on young people. Mitchell and Lee shared how the Hope Street in Melton Program provides safety and stability enabling them to focus on school, training and going to work. Mitchell and Lee commented that if there was a supported crisis accommodation (youth refuge) centre to go to in Melton, it would have meant they would have received the help they needed much earlier and less worry about where they were going to live.

The Corporate Breakfast was a tremendous success, raising over $1150 for the establishment of the first youth homelessness centre in Melton that will enable young people to remain connected to their communities, schools, friends and social supports.

Local Community Support

Ms Margaret Rowe-Watts, Social Justice Coordinator at Catholic Regional College Melton was one of the Melton community attendees at the event:

[Hope Street] aim to set up a crisis centre that can be accessed 24 hours a day 7 days a week and provide one on one support to young people. They were calling on organisations and businesses in the local area to help with financial support and to help spread the word that this is something that Melton needs and needs quickly.

As Social Justice Coordinator at the school, I will be investigating practical ways for us to support Hope Street and in turn help provide a better future for many young people in Melton.

You can read Ms Rowe-Watts' full story in an extract from the college's newsletter below.

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Acknowledgements

Thank you to Tabcorp Park Melton’s CEO, Shane Gloury, and his team for their commitment and hosting the event.

We especially appreciate the many individuals and organisations that generously supported the Corporate Breakfast, including:

• AFL Gold Fields
• Bunnings Melton
• Catholic Regional College
• Choice Hotel
• City of Melton
• Office of Don Nardella, Member for Melton
• Harness Racing Victoria
• Melton Centrals Football Club
• Melton Specialist School
• Melton Toyota
• News Corporation
• Raine & Horne Melton
• SBG Accountants & Business Advisors
• Sofitel Melbourne On Collins
• Tabcorp Park
• VHRSC
• Western Water
• Woodlea

We also thank our other Hope Street representatives at the event:

• Andrew Nette, Chair of the Board
• Jo Connellan, Director
• Jeremie Mbog Nyetam, Hope Street in Melton Program Coordinator
• Michelle Montague, Financial Manager
• Fiona Rigney, Executive Administration Officer

Event Sponsors