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We are delighted to report that construction of the Hope Street First Response Youth Refuge in Melton is now complete!
Young people are moving into the facility in the weeks ahead. Over the next 12 months, at least 100 young people (16-25 years old) and young families will receive crisis accommodation and support in the refuge, with an additional 100 young people being supported via our mobile outreach service.
The facility incorporates an eight-bedroom communal living building, a two-bedroom family unit and an integrated consulting centre and base from which a mobile outreach service will operate. The site is purpose-designed to enhance specialist youth practice for young people who have experienced trauma, leveraging the interface between physical environment, service delivery and client outcomes.
New Developments and Initiatives in the Response to Youth Homelessness – Hope Street’s contribution to Parity magazine April 2020
Dear Partners and Friends of Hope Street,
Hope Street is a co-sponsor of the April 2020 edition of Parity, a national magazine about homelessness that’s produced by Council to Homeless Persons. The April edition is entitled A Better Way Forward: New Developments and Initiatives in the Response to Youth Homelessness. This edition aims to highlight and foreground the changes in both the understanding of the dynamics of youth homelessness and the range of different policy and service responses and settings that have been developed and implemented to provide a better way forward in responding to youth homelessness.
The virtual launch for the magazine took place on Friday 15 May 2020 with Hope Street partners and friends, and other event attendees learning more about youth homelessness.
Jennifer Hansen, smoothfm 91.5 radio announcer and acclaimed journalist and newsreader, is an Ambassador for Hope Street. She recently spoke with Nick, a previous Hope Street client, to hear about his experiences with homelessness, the role Hope Street played in his life, and the ways he's now paying it forward. In Jennifer's own words…
It's hard not to describe 23-year-old Nick as the 'poster boy' for Hope Street because he's such a great example of how this wonderful organisation makes such a real and positive change in young people's lives.
And while I'd prefer not to use clichés here because it diminishes just how unique each story is behind the lives of every one of the young people at Hope Street… Nick truly is an inspiration to the others who come to the service for specialist assistance.
We’re being told that the safest place to be right now is home. But what does this mean for the more than 6000 young people who are experiencing homelessness in Victoria? And for the many more for whom home is not a safe place to be? How do you self-isolate and wash your hands regularly if you’re couch surfing in an over-crowded share-house or motel, sleeping in your car, or taking shelter on the streets?
Dear Friends of Hope Street,
Hope Street is currently home to 30 young people who are experiencing homelessness. They are aged between 16 and 25 years old, most of them have a childhood history of family violence, trauma and/or neglect, and several of them have young children who are also staying with us.
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FEATURED PILOT PROGRAM: Hope to Home in Whittlesea
Many young people face obstacles when trying to secure stable accommodation due to no rental history, lack of affordable housing, and no employment to sustain rental leases. The Hope to Home in Whittlesea pilot program will address these issues by:
- Facilitating the transition of up to 30 young people (and their children) from the Hope Street in Whittlesea program or Whittlesea Housing into 1 and 2 bedroom units
- Providing case management once they secure private rental of these units
- Helping these young people maintain their tenancy, employment, education and training, and community connections
- Engaging the support of community stakeholders including local businesses to address barriers contributing to youth homelessness
Please contact us if you would like to become a partner and support at risk young people and young families.
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Hope Street acknowledges the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation as the traditional custodians of the land and waterways. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging, and acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded. |
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