Across one and a half days, the Victorian Youth Homelessness Assembly will facilitate a unique conversation that evolves through panels and then collaborative workshops to create a roadmap for change. And every voice will play an important part.
Learn from and collaborate with frontline workers, sector leaders and young lived experience experts as we co-develop a brighter future.
Day One
Tuesday, 29 April
12-1pm: Registrations and Light lunch
Grab a casual lunch & network on arrival.
1-1.30pm: Official Welcomes & Introduction
1.30-2.30pm: Plenary Panel
“Learning from lived experience”
Young lived experience experts discuss what helped on their journeys and what obstructed them. What’s their ideal for a youth homelessness response?
2.40-3.30pm: Breakout Panels
Breakout 1 – Prioritising prevention: turning off the tap
Innovations, challenges and priorities in the mission to end youth homelessness before it begins.
Panel Members:
Announcing soon!
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Breakout 2 – Crisis accommodation
What does best practice crisis accommodation look like, to ensure young people have a safe haven when they most urgently need it?
Panel Members:
Announcing soon!
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Breakout 3 – Ending Aboriginal youth homelessness
Aboriginal Victorians are over-represented among young people experiencing homelessness. How do we most effectively embed self-determination in a strategy to end youth homelessness and be informed by the needs and voices of the Aboriginal community?
Panel Members:
Announcing soon!
3.30-4pm: Afternoon tea
4-4.50pm: Breakout Panels
Breakout 4 – Youth: the overlooked face of family violence
The Royal Commission into Family Violence found young people are often overlooked as “silent victims” of family violence. How do we create more response pathways for young people escaping violence.
Panel Members:
Announcing soon!
This panel is proudly supported by Meli.
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Breakout 5 – Foundations to thrive: supported housing models & pathways to independence
Integrating housing with support, and other programs to provide educational opportunities, development of life skills and employment pathways so young people can transition to adulthood with confidence and financial independence.
Panel Members:
Announcing soon!
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Breakout 6 – Health impacts and holistic care
Exploring the physical and mental health impacts of youth homelessness, and how we can provide personalised and integrated responses to ensure the best outcomes for young Victorians without a home.
Panel Members:
Announcing soon!
5:30-7:30pm: Official Social Reception
Join us for drinks and nibbles, to mix and connect with key stakeholders as we bring the message of youth housing and supports to Government House, one of Victoria’s most historic settings. (Alcohol-free event.)
Register for the Assembly before 4 April to attend this event!
Day Two
Wednesday, 30 April
9-9.15am: Welcome to Day 2
9.30-11.15am: Breakout Workshops
This morning the baton passes to Assembly participants, as you choose workshops of interest to discuss what success looks like in a range of areas, and the program priorities to get us there…
Workshop 1: Prevention and early intervention
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Workshop 2: Health and holistic care
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Workshop 3: Crisis accommodation
11.15-11.45am: Morning tea
11.45am – 1.30: Breakout Workshops
Another round of workshops focussing on reforms in specific priority areas.
Workshop 4: Family violence and youth homelessness
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Workshop 5: Supported housing models & pathways to independence
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Workshop 6: Ending Aboriginal youth homelessness
1.30-2.30pm: Lunch
2.30-3.20pm: Report back
We reconvene as one Assembly as our Senior Workshop Facilitator recaps the main discussions from the morning’s workshops.
3.20-3.40pm: Afternoon Tea
3.40-4.30pm: Plenary Panel
“Putting ideas into action”
Join representatives of the Ministerial Homelessness Reform Advisory Group – the homelessness sector’s forum to collaborate with the Government on system reform – as they reflect on highlights of the morning’s workshops and key elements of a Victorian Youth Homelessness Strategy identified through the discussions.
Panel Members:
Announcing soon!
4.30-4.45pm: Conference closing address
Next steps to distil the Assembly’s discussions into a statement of reform and funding priorities.