Gerald Lynch
Whittlesea will become home to a new Hope Street First Response Youth Service centre.
With one already existing in Melton and providing care for many youths, the new centre will be equipped with 12 emergency response beds being provided to up to 18 young people and children on any one night, including two units dedicated to young families.
This centre comes into the limelight as April 17 is Youth Homelessness Matters Day.
Over 100 vulnerable young people aged 16-25 and their children experiencing homelessness will receive essential support throughout Whittlesea, according to Hope Street.
Hope Street Youth and Family Services has led the build of the facility, with partnership from the state government and Whittlesea council.
Hope Street chief executive Donna Bennett said she is excited to provide Whittlesea with a service that will help so many young locals achieve their potential.
“In Whittlesea, this much-needed service for the local community in Melbourne’s outer-north growth corridor is coming to fruition due to investment of valued partners that share a commitment to enhancing the lives of vulnerable young people and their children in the community,” she said.
The new building has been formed on the learnings of its Melton predecessor, utilising trauma informed principles to provide a safe, calming, comforting and secure place for a minimum of 12 young people and their children each day.
With young people bearing the brunt of the housing crisis in Victoria, people aged between 16-24 are the largest cohort of homeless people in Australia, making up 25 per cent of the homeless population in Victoria. Australia wide, 37.4 per cent of people experiencing homelessness are under the age of 24, including children zero to 12 (ABS Census, 2021).
The success of this model was affirmed by a social return on investment analysis and a comprehensive evaluation conducted following a 4-year pilot in partnership with The Ian Potter Foundation.
For every $1 that is invested in a young person, a return of $3.14 on investment is made. Young people that engaged with the Hope Street services were found to be 94 per cent more likely to have a connection to community services, 77 per cent had improved mental health, 70 per cent had improved physical health, 63 per cent percent of young people exited into safe and secure housing.
Whittlesea’s First Response Youth Service Centre is on track to open in September.
