• Statement on ABC article
    Hope Street has joined a coalition of nearly 100 organisations demanding the federal government do more for youth homelessness. With fresh figures revealing the extent of youth homelessness, the campaign, ‘Home Time,’ has called on the Commonwe...

    Read more

    Federal Government Extends Homelessness Funding
    We won! Led by Homelessness Australia’s campaign, the Federal Government will extend the 73 million funding to respond to the homelessness crisis. In solidarity with peak service providers and the Australian Services Union, an Open Letter to the ...

    Read more

    Hope Street and SleepSafe
    Hope Street is providing comfort for young people and their children.   Providing dignity and comfort for young people and their children who are striving to secure a safe place to call home with high quality and beautifully designed linen. Hope ...

    Read more

    Update on the Whittlesea Build Site
    The City of Whittlesea is forecast to grow by 10,9981 by 2041.   Update on the Whittlesea Build Site   Exciting news from the build site!  Over 100 young people aged 16-25 years will receive short term accommodation and support in the City of...

    Read more

    2023 Annual Report Brief
    Annual Report Brief:   The Hope Street Youth and Family Services Annual Report for 2023 is available and should be read by those passionate about advocating and raising awareness for the most vulnerable to homelessness in Australia, children, and ...

    Read more

    Voice to Parliament Statement
      Hope Street Youth and Family Services proudly supports the First Nations Voice to Parliament and accepts the invitation offered through the Uluru Statement from the Heart, acknowledging that it was developed through consultation with First Nation...

    Read more

    JOB ALERT: New career opportunities at Hope Street
    Hope Street has a vision to live in a society where all young people and young families have a safe place to call home. If you would like to play a part in ending youth homelessness, join our teams of passionate people making a difference in the live...

    Read more

    Annual Celebration Event: From surviving to thriving - Thank you!
    Thank you to all who attended the Annual Celebration Event, including our AGM, today. We hope that you found it informative and enjoyable. Our Annual Report is now available for you to download and share with your networks: 2022 Annual Report 2022...

    Read more

  • Joint letter on youth homelessness
    A coalition of more than 60 organisations, including Melton’s Hope Street Youth and Family Services, Council to Homeless Persons and Youth Affairs Council Victoria has thrown its support behind ending youth homelessness in Victoria. Australian Inst...

    Read more

    Minister Pearson and Mr Steve McGhie MP visit Melton refuge
    The Honourable Danny Pearson MP, Minister for Housing (as well as Assistant Treasurer, Minister for Regulatory Reform, and Minister for Government Services), and Steve McGhie MP Melton, Victorian Labor Member for the Melton District, visited the Firs...

    Read more

    Having a yarn at Kirrip
    On Monday 10 October 2022, the Hope Street team caught up with Executive Officer Peter Webster and the fabulous team at Kirrip Aboriginal Corporation for a yarn and to share the Kinya Lerrk Acknowledgment plaques that are being installed at all of Ho...

    Read more

    Help young people find a place to call home
    Today is World Homeless Day. The purpose is to draw attention to the needs of people who have the experience of being without a home and provide opportunities for the community to get involved. Hope Street Youth and Family Services provides individua...

    Read more

    Legal partner visits our Melton refuge
    On Thursday 06 October 2022, Hope Street’s CEO, Donna Bennett, was thrilled to host a visit from HWL Ebsworth Lawyers with Partner, Leighton Moon, and legal professionals, Jane Ku and Thomas Appleby, with a tour of our leading designed youth refuge...

    Read more

    Catchup with Izzy Huntington
    CEO, Donna Bennett, recently held a virtual catch up with Hope Street friend and one of our Ambassadors, Isabel (Izzy) Huntington (AFLW, Greater Western Sydney, Giants).  Izzy was delighted to get an update on the outcomes young people engaged with ...

    Read more

    Pamper Hampers: Self-care, wellbeing and skills development
    Due to a donation from a generous community corporate partner, young people engaged with Hope Street and calling our programs home are focusing on their wellbeing, learning self-care skills via engagement in tailored fun community activities. Over t...

    Read more

    Growth with Hope Street
    A priority at Hope Street Youth and Family Services is that young people using our services are given opportunities for both skills and personal development.  Tending a vegetable garden bed with others is an example of this, being a fun activity tha...

    Read more


A joyful Christmas

Over Christmas and the holiday season, Hope Street Youth and Family Services will provide safe accommodation and outreach services for young people and young families who are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. Our specialist youth homelessness service will be supporting roughly 80 young people aged 16-25 years old, plus 22 of their dependent children aged 0-8 years old, across its sites in Brunswick, Whittlesea and Melton.

Donna Bennett, Hope Street's CEO, said Christmas can be a particularly challenging time for young people who are experiencing homelessness. "They may be missing family with whom they used to celebrate special occasions, and it's also a time of increased financial stress and pressure, particularly for young people with children who have high hopes of receiving a Christmas gift," said Donna.

Christmas joy

Christmas can be a challenging time for young people who are experiencing homelessness, but Hope Street Youth and Family Services and its corporate partners are doing what they can to spread some festive cheer.

Four corporate partners - Ecodynamics, Mirvac, Woodgrove Shopping Centre and Stramit – have joined with Hope Street for a Christmas appeal that will see over 70 young people receive Christmas gifts, food hampers and gift vouchers. The youth are either accommodated at Hope Street's refuge or residential accommodation sites in Brunswick, Whittlesea or Melton, or are receiving outreach services.

Each Hope Street site has also received a Christmas tree, which the young people have helped to decorate.

Christmas at Hope Street

American writer Marjorie Holmes once said: "at Christmas, all roads lead home." And yet, this Christmas more than 24,000 Victorians, of which a quarter are aged between 12 and 24 years old, will be homeless.

With incidents of youth homelessness expected to spike over the holiday season, Hope Street Youth and Family Services will be 'home' for a number of teenagers and young people.

Donna Bennett, Hope Street's CEO, said the specialist youth homeless service will be bracing for busy times with the last week of December and early January predictably busy periods for the youth homelessness sector.

"For the young people spending the holiday season in a refuge, Christmas can be a particularly challenging time," Ms Bennett said. "It is another reminder that they are not celebrating special occasions with their own family in their own home."

2017 - a year at Hope Street

Donna Bennett, CEO, looks back over a busy and fulfilling year for Hope Street and ahead to another year of achieving the best possible outcomes for young people and making a meaningful difference in their lives.

Dear Friends and Supporters of Hope Street

I would like to thank you for your continued commitment to Hope Street and for your dedicated support of young people and young families at risk of or experiencing homelessness.

2017 Annual General Meeting

On Thursday 30 November 2017, our Annual General Meeting was held at the Hope Street Community Hall in Melton.

The AGM featured Guest Speaker Dr Daniel Ooi, Social Work Program, Victoria University and Hope Street’s young people.

Seasons Greetings

As 2016 draws to close, we find ourselves reflecting on the past year and looking forward to the year ahead. 

Hope Street Youth and Family Services thanks our partners, supporters and donors who have helped to shape the future of many young people and young families in a most significant way.  Together with our teams, you are the foundation of the successful and sustainable outcomes that meet the needs of young people and their children who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness.

Donna Bennett, CEO

Hope Street Mission - ‘To seek, advocate and facilitate social change to meet the needs of young people and their children. To empower young people to overcome disadvantage and to achieve their hopes and future goals.’

Dear Friends and Supporters of Hope Street,

Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you for your continued support of Hope Street in 2016. Homelessness continues to be a major social issue - increasingly becoming more visible with more and more young people (as well as young families) finding themselves without a place to call home. With the cost of living sky-rocketing; unaffordability in the rental market; and a weekly Centrelink Youth Allowance payment averaging around $200, a homeless young person lives 57% below the Henderson Poverty Line. Even prior to making contact with a homeless service, a young person experiencing homelessness is likely to have already couch surfed with friends and family and/or been made vulnerable by staying in unsafe and/or unconventional environmental settings. In a society as wealthy as Australia – this is unacceptable.

Woodlea cheque presentation

A fundraising golf event teed off not long ago, raising awareness and funds for homeless young people and young families.

On Monday 10 October, Woodlea held their annual Charity Golf Day at the Latrobe Golf Club, with proceeds going to Hope Street, their nominated charity of choice for the event.  Hope Street CEO, Donna Bennett, and Service Development Manager, Bruce Tucker, attended the event’s dinner, at which Ms Bennett conducted a well-received presentation.

On Monday 12 December, a cheque for the amazing amount of $6,237 was presented by Woodlea to Ms Bennett in Melton.

Launch & 2016 AGM Invitation

On Tuesday 29 November, Hope Street launched the architectural plans of its new supported crisis accommodation centre in Melton. There was also a fantastic Talk and Performance by Hope Street’s talented young people, and much more as a part of the 2016 Annual General Meeting.

The event, held at our Hope Street Community Hall in Melton included a number of distinguished guests:

Merry Christmas and Happy New year from Hope Street

From everyone at Hope Street Youth and Family Services, we wish you a very Happy Festive Season and may 2016 bring you Hope and Joy!

Butterfly girl

Gandel Philanthropy's funding grant for Hope to Home in Melton will help homeless young people and their families move into their own place.

Gandel Philanthropy logoHope Street continues to be overwhelmed by the generosity of organisations such as Gandel Philanthropy and Raine and Horne Melton, and with the many individuals' donations to our Melton First Response campaign, either online or through the increasing numbers of butterflies of hope landing at Woodgrove Shopping Centre.

As a partner in our campaign, the Melton Leader has been instrumental in raising the community's awareness of the struggles young people and their families face when trying to get back on their feet in life without having a roof over their heads.

Nicolas and Cath at the Merri Community Health Services dental clinic, Brunswick

RDNS Homeless Person's Program youth nurse, Cath Flanagan, is the Community Oral Health Champion for 2015.

In July this year we featured a story, Nick is all smiles about his future, on Cath helping Nick access dental and other medical care. This Public Oral Health Award from Dental Health Services Victoria (DHSV) recognises Cath's initiative and dedication to ensuring that Nick and other homeless young people can get free, priority dental care to help them get their lives back on track without also having to deal with severe pain.

Cath has been instrumental in building a bridge of care between the dental service of Merri Community Health Services (MCHS - now known as Merri Health) and the Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS).

2014 AGM attendees

It was our pleasure to report on the activities and achievements of our organisation for the 2013/2014 period at our Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday 09 December 2014.   The AGM was held in Melton at our Hope Street Community Hall and included several highlights.

2012/2013 has been a tremendously successful year with many achievements and wonderful success stories with young people and young families across all of our programs. Youth Homelessness remains a major social problem requiring individual, community and government action.

Hope to Home in Whittlesea

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.

Go to top
JSN Boot template designed by JoomlaShine.com