The City of Greater Geelong has received $400,000 under the Victorian Government’s Youth Hubs grant program 2022-2023 to support the establishment of the first youth hub in central Geelong.
The Council will open a Geelong Youth Hub within the Busport building in central Geelong as part of a two-year pilot starting in January 2025 running until December 2026.
A community engagement for the dedicated youth space will run from 5 January 2024 to mid-March, 2024.
Young people across the Geelong region will be asked to help design the new space.
Feedback from young people provided via a Have Your Say website page and co-design workshops will be used to inform the design of the hub, as well as the services and activities it offers. This process will also directly involve youth service providers.
Learn how to get involved from 5 January 2024 here. There is also a chance to go in the draw to win a gift voucher.
The groundwork for this initiative was laid through collaboration with the Youth Council during the development of the Geelong Youth Hub Feasibility Study in 2022.
Council resolved to sell the Busport building in 2022, and this resolution remains in place. However, the sale of the property has been paused while the Council considers its approach to asset sales in general.
TheOutpost not-for-profit group has been notified that it can continue to use the building for its services while it searches for a new location.
The Victorian Government has committed $50,000 to assist The Outpost to find a new home.
“At the youth forums I held in 2020, a youth hub was something almost all young people identified as needed in the central Geelong area. I am pleased that this is moving closer to a reality,” said Christine Couzens MP for Geelong.
“Having young people included in the design of the space, and what services the youth hub should provide, is critical to the future success of the hub.”