Hopestreet runs interconnected programs in Playford each designed to meet young people at a different point of need, and walk alongside them toward something better. This is what we do and why we do it.
The Youth Drop-In Program is an after hours safe space for young people in the Playford area to gather, make friends, eat food, enjoy activities, and build relationships with positive role models in a warm and caring environment. It is designed to be low-barrier easy to access, nonclinical, and non-intimidating so that the young people who need it most can actually walk through the door.
The program operates throughout the week after school hours and is open to young people aged 10 to 25. There are no referrals needed and no forms to fill in. You just show up.
Research consistently shows that young people in the City of Playford face significant disengagement from education, employment, and community. Many of the young people who attend our Drop-In Program have had contact with police, experienced school suspensions, or are navigating instability at home. For many of them, home is not a safe or stable place to be after hours. Hopestreet exists to be the consistent, predictable, welcoming presence that fills that gap every single week.
Skate Outreach meets young people where they already are at the skate park, in the street, and in the community spaces they gather. Our team brings food, positive energy, and consistent presence to young people who may not be ready or willing to walk into a building. The goal is simple: build trust before we ask anything of anyone.
Through regular outreach sessions at key locations across the Playford area, we connect with young people who are disengaged, at risk, and often invisible to other services. Relationships formed on the street become the bridge to the Drop-In Program, Hopestreet Social, and support services.
There are significant barriers that prevent young people in Playford from accessing services location, confidence, and mistrust of institutions among them. Many young people who need support most are the least likely to walk into a service. Skate Outreach removes that barrier entirely. We go to them. We earn their trust over weeks and months. We do not ask them to change before we show up. That consistency is the intervention.
Hopestreet Social is our training café and op shop in Davoren Park a real world work environment open to the public, where young people aged 11 to 17 learn hospitality and retail skills in a safe, supported, and non-intimidating setting. Every session is delivered by youth workers who meet young people at their own baseline and build from there.
Participants learn barista skills, customer service, food preparation, cash handling, retail operations, résumé writing, and workplace expectations. Sessions run for one to one and a half hours in small groups. Referrals can be made for individuals or school classes, and programs run during school terms, holidays, or as an ongoing arrangement.
Hopestreet Social was built directly from what we were witnessing in the Youth Drop-In Program young people who had no work history, no experience, and no clear way forward. In Davoren Park, youth unemployment sits significantly above the state average, and 1 in 4 young people in the area are unemployed. Hopestreet Social exists to give young people a real pathway out of that statistic, through practical skills, genuine confidence, and a connection to employment.
Hopestreet Social accepts referrals for individuals and school groups. Programs can run during term time, school holidays, or as an ongoing arrangement. Contact us to discuss what works for your students or organisation.
Get in touchMentor Groups provides a safe space for young people to gather in small groups of up to 15 participants to make friends, eat food, enjoy activities, and build real relationships with positive role models. Excursions and alternate locations are used to create unique experiences throughout the school term.
The smaller group size is intentional. It creates a less intimidating environment, promotes deeper connection, and gives mentors the space to genuinely know the young people they are working with and respond to what they actually need.
Some young people struggle in large group settings. They may experience anxiety in social situations, difficulty forming relationships, or have simply never had an adult show up consistently for them. Mentor Groups is designed specifically for those young people a smaller, quieter, more relational environment where trust can be built at their own pace.
Pathways of Hope sits across everything Hopestreet does. It is a short-term follow-up and referral model that connects young people to the right services and support at the right time without hard handovers or cold transitions. Our team maintains contact, walks alongside young people between services, and makes sure nobody falls through the cracks.