Youth Reconciliation Practitioner Program
Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Country | Wurundjeri/Willam and Wurundjeri balug and Taungurung
Supporting young people to strengthen relationships, resolve conflict and prevent homelessness.
The Youth Reconciliation program provides free, one-to-one counselling and reconciliation support for young people aged 16–25 who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or affected by family violence. Recognising that family or relationship breakdown is often a key factor in youth homelessness, the program offers a safe, confidential space for young people to express concerns, work through issues such as anger, loss, or grief, explore options for positive change, strengthen relationships, and, where appropriate, access family mediation.
Delivered by a Youth Reconciliation Practitioner and supported by co-located Hope Street services—including the Homelessness Youth Dual Diagnosis Initiative (HYDDI) practitioner, and the visiting community nurse program via Bolton Clarke—the service adopts a trauma-informed, strengths-based, and client-centred approach. The program aims to prevent young people from entering cycles of homelessness due to family conflict, build self-reliance and independence, and provide early intervention to resolve conflict.
Through flexible, wholistic support, the Youth Reconciliation program helps young people maintain or rebuild family and social connections, develop communication and problem-solving skills, and re-establish the capacity to live interdependently, while also providing guidance and consultation to the broader homelessness service system.