Innovative Health Services for Homeless Youth

This is achieved by collaborating with networks and services in the Ballarat community, which work together to develop programs and initiatives that deliver optimal services for the current needs of homeless and at risk young people.

The goal is to establish better linkages, information exchange, mutual understanding and co-operative working relationships between young people and community services, and within the service sector. It seeks to improve the health and wellbeing of young people and raise community awareness of homelessness, as well as how we can best support at-risk young people.

Current IHSHY initiatives include:

Tight Arse Cookbook

The IHSHY Tight Arse Cookbook project will respond to food insecurity, improve food literacy and build self-confidence by supporting at-risk groups and people experiencing food insecurity to prepare low-cost, healthy meals. The resource contains simple, healthy, low-cost recipes which require limited basic ingredients.

Development of the IHSHY cookbook has begun, using co-design principles to collaborate with vulnerable young people and community members.

Once printed, the cookbook will be provided free of charge to food and emergency relief services and to organisations within the Ballarat community services sector. The resource will also be utilised by homelessness and residential services when delivering cooking and living skills programs for clients.