New First Nations youth hub welcomed

YOUNG First Nations people in Geelong now have access to a range of tailored services and support in one place with the opening of the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative’s new youth hub in Norlane.

Parliamentary Secretary for First Peoples and Geelong MP Christine Couzens and Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-Operative representatives celebrated the completion of Karroong Kanyool (“Home of the Young” in Wadawurrung language) in Forster Street on Friday last week.

Supported by more than $1.6 million from the Victorian government, the culturally safe gathering place will provide young First Nations people with access to clinical, social and emotional wellbeing services and support.

It will also provide young people with the opportunity to connect with each other, strengthen their life skills and participate in cultural activities.

Karroong Kanyool features new consulting suites for visiting health and wellbeing specialists, as well as various activity spaces including a play area, computer and TV rooms, meeting rooms, and an outdoor basketball court with the key surfaced in the colours of the Aboriginal flag.

Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative youth services manager Lily Edwards said it had been quite a journey from the hub’s conception to reality over the past four years, but the process had been entirely led by young people.

She said there were 105 requests for facilities or services to be located in Karroong Kanyool, and 99 had been met.

Ms Couzens welcomed the new hub but said it would also be an emotional day for First Nations people who remembered the previous building on the Forster Street site, which had been in use since the early 1980s.

“First Nations Young People need a culturally safe and supported place to connect with community and culture.

“The Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative has created a great space for Young First Nations People and families to access the services in the one location.

“Karroong Kanyool, meaning ‘Home of Young’, is now a space First Nations Young People and families in Geelong can call their own, where they can connect with community and receive the supports and services they need to thrive.”

Construction of the new hub was supported by the Victorian government’s Aboriginal Community Infrastructure Program.

The program funds projects planned by First Nations organisations, ensuring they can deliver what’s needed for their own communities.

Since 2018, the program has supported 93 projects across Victoria through a combined investment of almost $39 million.

Applications are now open for round seven, with more than $11 million available to successful First Nations organisations.

For more information, head to firstpeoplesrelations.vic.gov.au/aboriginal-community-infrastructure-program.