THE HUB

If you have lived in the area for a while you might already be familiar with the location of The Hub in the back of Northland. This youth centre was previously located outside Northland in the space that is now H&M.

Then in 2017 a new space in its current location was created by Darebin Youth Services and What a space! A lot of thought has gone into the layout and design, using the learnings from their previous location.

I showed up one afternoon not really knowing what to expect, just to get a vibe of the place, assuming that I would need to follow it up with a phone call to organise an appointment. Instead Patrick greeted me as I stepped in and generously spent the next hour chatting about The Hub.

What first striked me was how chilled the place seemed. Few kids were playing pool, others in the sound studio and a couple hanging around the spacious kitchen. The space just seemed well designed to accommodate multiple activities without intruding on each other at the same time.

Those aged 12-25 are welcome Tuesday to Friday

12.30 - 5pm (6pm on Fridays) to just drop in or attend previously organised appointments with one of the many services that set up at The Hub on specific days of the week. In the past the only time The Hub ever closed was during Covid mandatory lockdowns as it wasn’t deemed an essential service. Although after reading through the article, I wonder how many of you would agree with this classification.

Now, imagine you haven’t been there before, not sure what to expect or if you even want to talk to anyone. When you walk through the door, Patrick or another support worker will greet you and most likely lead you to the spacious kitchen. You’d be taking in your surroundings, likely seeing some kids playing pool or a card game and hear muffled music from the studio. While you take it all in there’s a cup of herbal tea being made for you and you’ll start to feel relaxed, welcomed and hopefully engaging in a friendly chat soon after.

On any day The Hub welcomes 20-40 kids, some arrive with specific questions in mind while others are there for the services or just conversation. The Hub is a culturally safe space – includes and welcomes young people of all abilities, cultural backgrounds and gender identities.

Although each day is ruled by a different theme, one can visit without the need to participate. On Tuesdays The Hub is slightly transformed into a low sensory place; soft lighting, mellow music and herbal tea. It offers group art activities as well as the opportunity for social gaming, playing board games, D&D or console games. If you come by on Wednesday you are offered employment support, help with your resume, job applications and interview practice and in the same space you can learn about healthy food. On Fridays a professional producer is hanging out at the music studio helping you make beats while others may participate in friendly games tournaments.

Apart from Patrick who manages The Hub, they also facilitate student placements and there are a range of people from mixed backgrounds helping out. When asked Patrick what qualities one should possess when working there the answer is not what you’d expect. The focus is less on qualifications, more on empathy, common sense, social awareness and using one’s initiative.

Various support groups set up ‘shop’ here (for exact days best to call The Hub):

• Fitzroy Legal Service is there to offer free legal service,

• Your Community Health provides support for accessing health services,

• You can talk to Prace Reconnect about returning to training and education,

• Merri Outreach Support Service offers support in housing and homelessness and those who require

• Disability employment support will find Youth Project on the premises.

Any non-profit groups who work with young people in Darebin can talk to the Hub about using their space.

It really is a one stop shop and completely free of charge. Offering holistic services of this kind sounds like a no brainer but access to similar youth services still lacks in many parts of the country. Here you can choose to drop in or make appointments. These services have found that young people are far more likely to attend their appointments at The Hub than at the services’ main locations.

Counseling is the only area missing from these holistic services. This comes down to lack of resources, not enough qualified counselors and government funding. Kids from The Hub are referred to Headspace or other services as appropriate for counseling.

Patrick told me about a kid who when first walked through the doors just needed a safe space, then some help in nearly all areas of his life and last time he visited it was to get help filling out his passport application in preparation for his first overseas trip.

While chatting with Patrick, a young man came up and asked if they could cook a dish and right after he suggested the idea of organising a smoking ceremony and inviting 3KND to cover it. Taking initiative is indeed a welcome trait here.

Words that come to mind when I now think of The Hub is ‘safe and welcoming’. I believe that every kid who walks through that door is already richer for it.

For more details on the above mentioned services:

• Headspace: https://headspace.org.au/

• Fitzroy Legal Service: https://fls.org.au/

• Your Community Health: https://www. yourch.org.au/

• Prace Reconnect: https://prace.vic.edu.au/ reconnect/

• Merri Outreach Support Service: https:// merri.org.au/

• Darebin Jobs Active: https://www.darebin. vic.gov.au/Business-and-industry/Businessresources-and-support/Employing-inDarebin/Employment-services

• Youth Project: https://www.youthprojects. org.au/ https://www.darebin.vic.gov.au/community-andpets/darebin-youth-services/services-and-youthcentres/the-hub-northland https://www.facebook.com/DarebinYouthServices

Address: ex01, Northland Shopping Centre, Preston

Phone: (03) 8470 8013