Hope Street is building… a team and a youth homelessness service in City of Whittlesea. 

Hope Street is a leading youth homelessness organisation specialising in placed based youth focused responses and advocacy, now recruiting a new team for the upcoming state-of-the-art designed centre for young people and children.  The new team will consist of: a Team Leader, two Case Managers and six Youth Residential Support Workers who will provide early intervention support to young people 16-25 years and young families impacted by not having a safe place to call home.  These roles are suitable for people that have qualifications in Social Work and/or Youth Work. This is an opportunity to be part of a nation leading response to homelessness in the City of Whittlesea. 

The Hope Street First Response Youth Service model is being replicated from the highly successful First Response Youth Service model established in Melton in 2020.  Aboriginal cultural safety elements have been included in the design of this new centre and incorporating  

A dedicated unit for young Aboriginal families and their children. Hope Street acknowledges the protection of a culturally significant river red gum, that is the centrepiece of this new facility.  

Recruitment of a Team Leader is under way and applications are also being received for the case managers and youth residential staff. See the careers page of the website for roles, position descriptions and application process.    

 Hope Street is looking for new team members who: 

• Share Hope Street’s values.   
• Are energised and motivated to provide young people and young families with essential and potentially life changing services. 
• Are enthusiastic to utilise your experience, skills, knowledge and approaches to practice. 
• Welcome a challenge. 
• Look for growth and development. 
• Desire to be a part of a team and organisation that genuinely values its team. 
• Enjoy empowering young people to achieve great outcomes.   

If the above resonates with you, you are encouraged to apply for one of the new positions and become a part of the Hope Street team.    

“It will be exciting for case managers and youth residential workers to work with the new Team Leader to develop this program. Significant induction with our experienced existing teams will occur prior to the service opening.” - Nicole Misurelli (People and Culture Manager).    

This beautifully designed building is specially catered towards those that need therapeutically enhanced living areas to support young people that have been impacted by trauma. The construction of the new centre is making swift progress.   Check out the Whittlesea build here: Update on Whittlesea.  

Sue Scott, the Operations Manager at Hope Street: “It is terrific seeing the structure of the centre take shape. We will have 100 young people each year call this space home and each young person will have the opportunity to feel safe and be actively supported to achieve their goals. Young people who engage with Hope Street are supported by case managers to set goals in the following areas: living skills, health and wellbeing, cultural and community connection and education/ training or employment. The young residents use the opportunity of living in the Hope Street refuge to set themselves for success.”    

To apply to be part of the Hope Street team, please visit the careers page here.

Youth Homelessness Matters Day  

Youth Homelessness Matters Day (YHMD) is a national day that aims to raise awareness and public discussion about child and youth homelessness. It's a day to start conversations about sustainable and innovative solutions to support the needs of young people experiencing homelessness. On any given night, over 28,200 young people in Australia are experiencing homelessness. (ABS Census, 2021).  

On April 17th 2024 Hope Street staff attended the launch of the new edition of Parity, "Going it Alone: Unaccompanied Child and Youth Homelessness - Pathways into and out of Homelessness." Parity magazine is Australia’s leading national homelessness publication. The launch event was attended by lived experience advocates, community, youth and social service workers, young people, and young families with lived experience of homelessness, members of Government and people in the community interested in ending child and youth homelessness.  

The opening address was provided by the Hon. Josh Burns MP, Chair of the Human Rights Committee. “Nearly 40,000* young people are homeless, and they need to be at the heart of everything we do... today we come together to remind ourselves of who this is about. Young people. Every Australian deserves to have a safe home.” - Josh Burns MP.  

The highlight of the event was a vital and lively panel discussion of young people with lived experience to share their stories and views on how to create an improved service response and what matters to them. Johnathan, a young person from Hope Street shared how important it is to get support for mental health. Having accommodation and food options. “When I got into a refuge, where I had a bed, shower and food was great. Even just to sit on a couch and watch T.V was great rather than sit in a park all day and stare at a tree wondering where I would go next for the night.” When asked what does wrap around support look like, Johnathan spoke on his positive experience with Hope Street, “support teams that offer a range of supports including case managers, counselling, life skills and activities that are all needed for young people to move on.”  

Hope Street's Chief Executive Officer, Donna Bennett featured on a Panel discussion hosted by Kate Colvin, CEO of Homelessness Australia, alongside Natalie McDonald, CEO of Quantum Support Services; Stephen Nash, CEO Kids Under Cover as well as Shorna Moore, MCM; Wayne Merritt, WAYSS. 

Donna Bennett from Hope Street spoke passionately about the current realities of young people experiencing homelessness: “It is now impossible to get a young person into private rental. Youth allowance is not enough. Only 0.04% of social and public housing is provided to young people. Child and youth homelessness across Australia must be considered as a state of emergency.  We are at a critical turning point in history in Australia requiring immediate action.” 

Youth Homelessness Matters Day is an urge for all levels of government to take real action and provide the necessary funding to implement solutions. From the perspective of young people with lived experience, the social support they receive from Hope Street is vital to improving their connection to community and wellbeing.  

For this new April 2024 edition of Parity, Hope Street has submitted multiple articles on youth homelessness which advocates for young people and aims at addressing the systemic barriers to housing that impact on Australia’s most vulnerable citizens.  

Hope Street will be posting these articles to continue the advocacy on this important issue and provide solutions to the community.  
 

Articles which feature in April 2024 edition by Hope Street include: 

Donna Bennett’s Opinion Piece, pg. 90  

Safety First: The Medical System Failing Vulnerable Young People on Mental Health, pg. 38 

Multidisciplinary approaches in the homelessness sector: Views from the second-floor balcony; a Case study on lived experience youth homelessness. By Gary Hoang, pg. 42.  

Championing Health at Hope Street. By Jamileh Hargreaves and A/Prof. Jessica Heerde, pg 46.   

Announcing the next steps for Hope Street; sustainable housing options with long-term solutions. By Sue Scott, pg. 78 

Education is just the beginning for young people: Collaboration, inclusion and paid placements vital to the youth homelessness service sector, achieve great equity and cultural harmony across communities. Ruby Kelly-Gurthie and Jamileh Hargreaves, pg. 65.   

___________________________________________________________________________ 

*Nearly 40,000 children and young Australians receive homeless services on an annual basis without an adult present, according to the latest figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 

Andrew Giles MP visits Hope Street  

Hope Street Youth and Family Services was delighted to show local Federal MP Andrew Giles, the Member for Scullin, the build site for the First Response Youth Services Refuge in the City of Whittlesea this April. Andrew has been a strong supporter of Hope Street’s Youth Services, and he was able to see the significant progress that has been made. This refuge will have a positive impact on young people and young families in the area. On any night, around 28,200 young people across Australia are experiencing homelessness. On census night 2021, 854 people were recorded as being homelessness, only in the City of Whittlesea. (ABS, 2021). This First Response Youth Refuge design allows young people and young families to have access to features and amenities that optimise trauma informed wellbeing and approach to practice in the local community.  

Katie Hooper from the Hope Street team was able to show Andrew Giles that the new Hope Street centre in the City of Whittlesea will feature 12 beds, plus a staff sleep over room, ensuites and 2 family units which will support over a hundred young people including children each year to have a safe place when they are experiencing homelessness. In this growth corridor, young people and young families that experience homelessness will receive a nation leading response with wrap around services to support their well-being during their time of crisis. Andrew Giles was interested to discuss this therapeutically designed safe place to be part of the local community that can deliver quality services following a young person’s experience of insecure housing and homelessness.  

This specially designed youth refuge centre will feature: large windows to optimise natural light; a dedicated bathroom; ensuites; art and craft space; open plan living; visibility to landscaped garden from all windows; visibility of people and spaces; warm and soothing materials; water features; gardens that grow nutritious home-grown vegetables and herbs. 

Community is at the heart of Hope Street’s response to the crisis of child and youth homelessness in Victoria.  Notably, 22% of Hope Street clients were born overseas and this program and refuge when up and running will offer wrap around support that reflects the needs of the local community and is tailored to the individual needs of young people and young families. 

The dedicated case management team will support young people to set goals in 5 core areas to increase living skills, health and wellbeing, education and employment; as well as cultural and community connection, Hope Street is committed to delivering this leading project in partnership with the Victorian Government and City of Whittlesea and with the tremendous support of the local community.  

“Following on the from success of the outcomes achieved by the Melton First Response Youth Refuge, it has been great to have the support of the local Federal Member Andrew Giles on this important project to respond to crisis of youth homelessness.  This First Response Youth Service Refuge is set to be a strong part of the local community that will provide necessary outreach and refuge to many young people. Given this national emergency is impacting the most vulnerable citizens, governments with wider community support need to be bold and significantly invest and prioritise this action. Hope Street achieves outcomes for young people and young families and this model of service delivery should be guaranteed by protecting it in Federal legislation to address child and youth homelessness specifically." - Donna Bennett, Chief Executive Officer at Hope Street.  

Highlights from the 'All Staff Day,' at the Melton Council Youth Centre celebrating 'Everyone Belongs,' on Harmony Day.

On 21 March 2024 Hope Street staff teams were invited to an all-staff day to listen to and provide feedback about their program and wellbeing, hear about the progress on strategic priorities such as Whittlesea, growth and more, and to have some fun and team development. All this in the context of Harmony Day when we acknowledged diversity and the importance of belonging by wearing the colour orange.   

It was also an opportunity for Hope Street's staff to come together and reflect on 'Everyone Belongs,' and their team's contribution to advocacy and wrap around service support for young people and young families experiencing homelessness. It was an opportunity for staff across the multiple sites to come together and share program highlights, identify service delivery gaps, explore solutions and focus on getting to know hat everyone brings to the team. Hope Street’s commitment to belonging ensures that staff feel accepted, included, and valued within the workplace. It is within this spirit the Hope Street Well-Being Working Group conducted activities with the team members to enhance belonging to the Hope Street community.  

A highlight was the shared experience of Saliah, Team Leader Development and Support, Melton Young Communities, who spoke of the importance of belonging and the West African drumming session by Frank, Team Leader Projects, also of the Young Communities team at Melton City Council. Frank drew the wonderful analogy of our drumming in teams using the West African, Djembe - each having our own individual and diverse beat but holding a base-beat to achieve our common purpose or rhythm. 

(Above Sue Scott, Nicole Misurelli, Paula Forrester, Frank, Donna Bennett and Saliah) 

 
This 'All Staff Day,' took place at City of Melton Youth Centre and the First Response Youth Service Refuge Melton where staff received a tour of the facilities and pizza lunch. Not all staff had seen the architect purpose designed youth centre and this was a great way to showcase the leading facilities provided by the First Response Youth Service Team. Some staff even got to continue the Hope Street Melton tour by visiting the Hope Street in Melton (Youth Foyer-like program) cluster model of 12 units providing stability and support for up to two years for young people and their children.   Focus is on developing essential living skills through experiential learning and support in key areas such as: budgeting, cooking/cleaning, establishing routine, developing communication skills,  

 
Hope Street thanks the Melton City Council Youth Services for providing a venue for the Hope Street All Staff Harmony Day and their warm support welcoming our team to their centre and community in the heart of Melton.