Hope Street Youth and Family Services

This project equipped 50 young people with basic life skills needed for independent living and encouraged positive interaction between residents at the Brunswick Crisis Refuge, Whittlesea and Melton Transitional Accommodation.

At group sessions, young people experiencing homelessness were provided with practical information, education and support so they could actively participate in the community. The project helped young people to gain confidence, learn living skills and develop community networks. Topics of the various workshops held included:

Orientation and access to the Australian Community Services: navigating the service system
Housing and Accommodation
Education, Training and Employment
Financial Counselling and Budgeting
Language, Literacy and Numeracy
Mental Health Information and Support
Relationships Skills Enhancement
Loss and Grief
Conflict resolution
Obtaining Learners Permits and Licence
Cooking and Nutrition
Health and Wellbeing
Sexual Health
Connect to Social and Recreational activities

The project's immediate outcomes for young homeless migrants and refugees were that it:

Improved their

understanding and access to appropriate housing, financial resources, psychological, emotional health, wellbeing and quality of life
relationships with peers and their local community that would lead to accommodation, emotional and wellbeing support, links to employment, and sense of belonging
understanding of appropriate ethical and protective behavioural practices
independent living skills

Educated them to identify and avoid dangerous/anti-social situations
Assisted them to

build and sustain respectful relationships
secure affordable, safe and sustainable housing

Connected them to education and training with a view to gaining employment
Created community connections to enhance their wellbeing and resilience
Enabled them to reach their full potential and brought about long term positive sustainable change in their lives

Young homeless people, including those from a migrant and refugee background, participating in this project were not left floundering in the service system trying to navigate and access relevant supports. They were introduced to relevant agencies and resources in a coordinated manner and this increased their resilience and wellbeing - see Stephen: Stable skills for life, for one young man's experience of the project.

Project Partners / Stakeholders

This project involved a range of stakeholders in the Whittlesea, Merri-bek and Melton local government areas working with Hope Street to plan and deliver the project such as family violence providers, ethno specific community leaders, new and emerging community network service providers and the following organisations: