The Youth Hub will be located on Salisbury Street in the heart of central Christchurch, with Turanga, the Margaret Mahy playground, Bus Exchange and the future Metro Sports complex all within walking distance. The acre of land was specifically purchased for the project by Anglican Care and will be leased back to the Youth Hub Trust to build and run the facility. The facility has been designed to fit into its local surroundings with involvement from acoustic, traffic engineering, urban design and landscaping experts to ensure it enhances its residential environment. Young people were included in the design process to ensure the facility meets their needs and local neighbours have been consulted, with the design adjusted to address their concerns.

Facilities

Facilities in the Youth Hub include offices for health and mental health services, social services, counselling, and educational and employment support. There will also be activities, recreation and sporting spaces including a basketball court, creative, performance and events spaces, an art gallery, café, education and training areas, and Cultivate greenhouses on the roof.

Supported housing

A key feature of the Youth Hub is its supported housing facilities. These will provide emergency and transitional housing for up to 25 young people aged between 16 and 23, provided they are actively looking for education, training or work. Once these young people have established regular income with the support of supervision and training available on site, they will be able to transition into housing of their own. Tenants will be assisted with their health and wellbeing, employment, catch-up education, and support needs. There will also be opportunities for creativity, recreation and learning new skills like vegetable growing and cooking. The Youth Hub’s supported housing facilities consists of one block of single bedroom, hostel-style dwellings all of which will have disability access, and one block of 3-4 bedroom townhouses, one of which will have disability access.