The BEAR Project is helping local young people lead change, challenge stigma and support peers at risk of homelessness.
Key Points
- The BEAR Project is a youth-led initiative focused on ending youth homelessness across the Sutherland Shire, Georges River and Bayside communities
- Project Youth’s BEAR Project was funded through Category 1 ClubGrants from Club Central
- Project leader Natasha Ransford was named a finalist in the 7NEWS NSW Young Achiever Awards Create Change category
- Youth leaders draw on lived experience to lead the conversation around reducing stigma, raising awareness and helping young people recognise hidden homelessness signs earlier — as well as where to go for help
- The BEAR project has engaged schools through workshops, information stalls, resource cards and community pledges
The BEAR Project is a youth-led movement helping young people turn lived experience into action, creating practical pathways to identify, understand and respond to youth homelessness in local schools and communities.
The BEAR Project (Be Engaged, Act, Rise), led by young advocates at youth homelessness charity Project Youth, is a grassroots initiative born out of lived experience of homelessness and designed to change the way local communities understand and respond to youth homelessness.
Led by Natasha Ransford, from Project Youth and YPAC (Young People Advocating Change), The BEAR Project places young people at the centre of the conversation. The initiative empowers young people aged 12–24 to challenge stigma, recognise the signs of hidden homelessness and connect peers with support before a crisis escalates.
The project is funded by long-term community partner Club Central through ClubGrants and sees young people work with schools across the Sutherland Shire, Georges River and Bayside LGAs, to help young people better understand youth homelessness and the support available. Practical resources, including discreet support cards, have also been distributed to help young people identify when a friend may be at risk and respond in a safe, compassionate way.
At its heart, The BEAR Project is built around the idea that one small act can create big collective change. Through pledges, awareness activities and community education, the project encourages local people to help build a community where young people have access to safe housing, vital supports and the opportunities they deserve.
In 2025, Project Youth had to turn away 958 young people seeking a safe place to sleep, representing 83% of its total housing referrals. Project Youth also notes that almost one in two young people in NSW are turned away each day for crisis housing support.
In its inaugural year, The BEAR Project has continued to build momentum, engaging local schools, distributing hundreds of support resources and encouraging more than 100 community members to take a BEAR pledge. Each pledge represents a small but meaningful action toward creating a community where every young person feels safe, valued and supported.
The program’s impact has also been recognised beyond the local community, with Project Youth mentor Natasha Ransford named as one of five finalists in the Create Change category at the 7NEWS NSW Young Achiever Awards.
Natasha developed The BEAR Project from lived experience and has grown it into a broader social justice movement, using her story to inspire others and show the difference young people can make when they are given the platform to lead.
For Club Central, supporting The BEAR Project reflects the role clubs can play in strengthening their communities beyond their venues.
At its heart, The BEAR Project is built around the idea that one small act can create big collective change
