Young people stealing food because they’re hungry, Latrobe City council told
A Gippsland Youth Spaces spokesperson said many of the adolescents who come into their communal areas are likely to be on the streets.
Jacob Wallace
December 02, 2025
When Gippsland Youth Spaces co-chair, Jewel Burchell-Robbins, told a council meeting that young people in Latrobe Valley are stealing food because they have nothing to eat, the chamber fell silent.
What happened: Latrobe City Council has unanimously backed a plan to provide $30,000 for a community outreach model that aims to reduce anti-social behaviour in Latrobe’s CBD after hearing emotional testimony that young people are stealing food to eat.
🗣️ “There’s been a massive spike [in youth homelessness], especially around our region,” Burchell-Robbins said. “Young people don’t have safe spaces to go to a lot of the time.”
Burchell-Robbins helps run Gippsland Youth Spaces’ Re-Engage Program, which assists young people who are skipping school regularly across the valley in returning to secondary schooling.
There are currently 2,200 people signed up to Gippsland Youth Spaces who can access the space for basic amenities, free meals and new clothes. Members of the public don’t need to be signed up to access the space either.
🗣️ “Many of the young people that come into our space are likely to be on the streets,” Burchell-Robbins said.
Gippsland Youth Spaces hands out over 100 meals weekly to young people.
Burchell-Robbins told the council the organisation requires four staff members to operate the space and undertake outreach programs, but that “due to budget cuts and funding from the government being very scarce, we only have three staff members at the moment”.
💰 What will the $30,000 provide?
The money will go into organising a program to connect vulnerable people with the appropriate support services, by training staff from various community organisations, including Gippsland Youth Spaces.
Growing safety concerns across the region
Latrobe City resident Linda Reid also spoke in favour of the program, saying she had growing concerns about the safety of Morwell’s train station. Reid described navigating the car park next to the station at night as "very scary".
🗣️ Reid said she hoped it would “address crime, disadvantage, antisocial behaviour and many of the things we’re seeing in our public places”.
🏛️ Left waiting for state minister
Councillor’s Sharon Gibson and Tracie Lund said the council had put off voting on the program in the hope state Minister for Police, Anthony Carbines, would visit Latrobe and see the problem for himself, but had been left waiting months.
🗣️ “The reality is we’ve lost time because of it”, Lund said.
