THE state government has given $4.3 million towards a ”youth hub” at Rosebud and is now inviting suggestions about what it should offer from young people.
The federal government has also committed $1.5m towards the project.
“We want feedback from young people up to 25 or 26 as to what they’d like,” Nepean MP Chris Brayne said.
“The youth hub needs to be a place young people want to go to.”
The announcement of the grant from the state’s Growing Suburbs Fund to Mornington Peninsula Shire was made jointly by Local Government and Suburban Development Minister Shaun Leane and Mr Brayne.
The Southern Peninsula Youth Services Hub will be built at Olympic Park Recreation Reserve, off Besgrove Street, Rosebud.
The shire describes the youth hub as being “multi-use and fit-for-purpose”.
In a statement released after Crs Sarah Race, Antonella Celi, Lisa Dixon, Debra Mar and Kerri McCafferty met at the site with Mr Leane and Mr Brayne, it said the project “will deliver an accessible youth-friendly facility with an innovative design to promote greater utilisation, maximise occupancy and enable a full suite of youth services, including but not limited to: Art and craft space; break-out lounge; classrooms; clinical support services (including Headspace operation); cooking ; drop-in centre; employment and education assistance; games and recreational space; holiday programs; IT hub; meeting rooms and work spaces”.
The shire is also “continuing its advocacy efforts to seek other funding sources to see the hub come to fruition”.
The two-year build is expected to start in late-2022.
Mr Brayne said the grant for the youth hub was “one of the largest investments in the fund’s history.
He described the hub as “a new, modern and accessible home for a wide range of different services and programs, with a strong focus on mental health support, advice and counselling”.
“It will be a game changer that will change the lives and offer opportunities for our young people on the southern peninsula,” Mr Brayne said.
“I urge residents to get involved in telling us what the ideal centre for young people looks like and what it should include.
“While this facility will be a prospective home for mental health facilities, community organisations, and many more, it’s my expectation that it will also be a destination that young people will visit for many years to come.”
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 20 April 2021
