Connect & Thrive: A Plan for Young People in Hume 2022 – 2026

Council will continue to provide and enhance welcoming, interesting, multipurpose centres for young people and their families, while also working to provide youth-friendly environments in other venues, facilities, and spaces in the community. This will be underpinned by best-practice, youth-informed frameworks for these spaces which will ensure that they are accessible, flexible, safe, and responsive to the unique characteristics of young people and the communities to which they belong.

Council will bring together a diverse collection of relevant youth and community information and resources for young people and their families, and make these available at centres, libraries and digitally. These resources will improve navigation across needed services and supports, while also providing opportunities for young people to explore interests, identity, and issues affecting their lives.

Council will deliver and partner with key stakeholders to provide innovative, interest-driven, and experiential programs that support social health and wellbeing, connection, creativity, life-skill development, educational achievement, and employment pathways. Additionally, Council will establish a range of culturally safe and responsive programs that bring young people and families together to respond to their needs and interests, while fostering strong and healthy relationships.

Council will develop new partnerships and bolster existing ones to strengthen the local youth sector. This will be achieved by facilitating information sharing, supporting service coordination, and sharing available resources. Council will ensure that young people have opportunities for their voices to be heard and listened to, their rights respected, their needs and interests represented and have opportunities to be involved in civic engagement and decisions that affect them.

Council will develop and deliver a suite of new, targeted programs and resources that will support successful transitions for young people and their families. This will include programs and resources that support the transition from primary to secondary school, secondary school to work or further education, the move from dependence upon family to relative independence and identify formation. This will include programs and initiatives focussed on developing young people’s capabilities, and strengthening links between schools, training providers and businesses.