Housing Minister Wendy Lovell joins the first group of young people to move into the new housing initiative.
Photo provided by Hanover Welfare Services.
An educational refuge for some of Victoria’s most vulnerable young people has officially opened its doors at Holmesglen TAFE in Glen Waverley.
The Holmesglen Youth Foyer is now home to 30 students aged between 16 and 24, and is the first of three foyers to open over the next two years.
Tony Nicholson, executive director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, says the foyer aims to provide disadvantaged young people with the necessary skills to become employed and build productive lives.
“The youth foyer is trying to put these teenagers onto a different trajectory, with an emphasis first and foremost on undertaking training and going to school,” Mr Nicholson says.
The Holmesglen housing project is being funded by the Victorian Government as part of a $30 million commitment to reducing youth homelessness.
Each young person staying at the youth foyer will undertake a Certificate in Independent Living to learn skills such as money management and career preparation.
Tony Keenan, chief executive of Hanover Welfare Services, says young people are selected for the youth foyer based on their previous living circumstances and attitude towards learning.
“They have to be eligible, so they have to be a young person who is either homeless or at risk of homelessness, and they also have to show their willingness to engage,” Mr Keenan says.
Deejay Bartle, 16, is one of the youngest residents living at the Holmesglen foyer and has been living in and out of homeless refuges for four years.
After living in almost every state of Australia, along with a small stint in America, Deejay says he finally feels “settled and free” at Holmesglen.
“It’s awesome,” he says.
Deejay and his neighbours rent the self-contained units at the youth foyer for 25 per cent of their income.
They have access to a number of communal lounge areas, a music room that includes instruments such as an electronic drum kit, and they are given their own laptop to keep.
Hanover Welfare Services says access to the Internet and social media is important for kids such as Deejay, who has been to 21 different schools and has around 2000 Facebook friends, to stay connected with the community.
The foyer has room for up to 40 students and will offer its services to another 10 young people in the coming months.
Mr Nicholson says being educated at the student-style accommodation will allow these young people to avoid “a life sentence for poverty and exclusion”.
