For children, youth and community

Support to help the whole community thrive

Holstep Health offers a range of initiatives to meet the health needs of our communities. We collaborate with community members, local government, sporting clubs, education, early years and other service providers to bring about better health and wellbeing for all.

We offer programs to support the development of babies through to young adults to support physical, mental and social development.

We also work directly with primary and secondary schools to help them create environments that are healthy, inclusive and supportive for everyone – students, staff and families. Our team designs initiatives to create positive changes across school culture, curriculum and everyday practices. We can support you with policy reviews, engagement strategies, student-led projects, and referral pathways to help you promote wellbeing and prevent poor health.

Read our Community Health, Health Promotion Strategic Statement 2025-2029 here

Active Living program

Holstep Health partners with our community and the sport and recreation, health, and primary prevention sectors to provide respectful, inclusive, and equitable places where everyone can enjoy being active. 

We help clubs and recreation facilities find ways to support health and wellbeing for their whole club community – officials, members, players, their families, and the wider community.

Using frameworks such as Sport and Recreation Victoria’s Safe and Inclusive Sport: Preventing Gender-Based Violence guide and Healthy Sports Clubs, we draw on the enormous influence of local sporting clubs to promote positive behaviours and attitudes around health and wellbeing, gender equality, respectful relationships and gender-based violence prevention.

Community Bank Children and Youth Grants

Do you want to make a positive change in your community? 

Community Youth Grants are available for children and young people who live, play or study in or around West Heidelberg, and also for young people who have experience of the youth justice system. 

You can apply for between $200 and $5000 to develop a project. This can be for anything which will benefit your community and which your community wouldn’t be able to do otherwise. 

Heidelberg District Community Enterprise Foundation fund the children and youth grants, with some additional support from Banyule Council. The facilitation of the grants is supported and delivered by Holstep Health West Heidelberg.

Healthy schools

Holstep Health partners with primary and secondary schools in Merri-bek and Banyule to create healthy, inclusive and safe school environments for students, staff and families.  Our current work is focusing on promoting gender equality and promoting nutritious food environments.

Our team can:

• deliver curriculum or support teachers to deliver curriculum 
• support schools to develop and apply health and wellbeing action plans
• develop or review health and wellbeing policies and processes
• assess a school’s social and physical environment, culture and curriculum through a health and wellbeing lens
• support student-led initiatives
• connect schools with other relevant community services
• evaluate programs and their impact on the school community’s health and wellbeing.

Our evidence-based work aligns with the Victorian curriculum and whole of school approaches.

We Love Stories

We Love Stories is making sure that all kids in West Heidelberg and surrounds start school ready to learn, healthy and feeling connected. We have a group of local families and workers (our partnership) who want to improve things for families with young kids in the area. 

Learn more about the program