Youth housing

Youth housing workers assist young people to access safe, secure and affordable housing, and to increase their independent living skills.

This program supports young people with:

• access to short-term housing
• information about emergency accommodation
• support with the Office of Housing
• referral to counselling services
• assistance with access to the private rental market
• assistance with Centrelink payments and budgeting
• referral to education and training options
• someone to talk to about things at home.

Under the Opening Doors Framework the Ballarat area has a single entry point—Uniting Care Ballarat—for accessing homelessness and housing services. The BCH Youth Housing program receives all referrals directly from this entry point.

If you are homeless or have a housing crisis, please contact the Ballarat Uniting Care Housing Program on (03) 5332 1286. You can also drop in without an appointment at 105 Dana Street, Ballarat Central, and they will arrange a meeting with a housing worker. You can also call the statewide homeless crisis response number at all times: 1800 825 955.

Other services for people experiencing homelessness include:

Breezeway Meals Program

Uniting Care Ballarat runs the Breezeway Meals Program from 105 Dana Street, Ballarat Central. Every day of the year Breezeway provides a hot and nutritional two course midday meal for people who are marginalised, homeless, living in insecure accommodation or without cooking facilities. It operates from 10:30-1:30pm each day.

Soup Bus Ballarat

The Soup Bus provides an after-dark meal service to Ballarat’s homeless and less fortunate on five evenings a week: Monday to Thursday from 7:30-9:30pm and Sunday from 5:30-7:30pm from the Civic Hall carpark, 300-304 Mair St, Ballarat.