And it can come from anywhere.

It was dark and cold on Monday night when I was picking up takeaway for dinner from a restaurant in Ballarat East.

A young boy wearing socks and slides and track pants with a hole near the knee approached me as I walked from my car and asked if I had any spare change.

Everyone knows what it is like to look the other way when walking past people sleeping rough and asking for money on Melbourne's streets.

Some would even cross the street to avoid experiencing feelings of awkwardness, embarrassment and helplessness.

But this was in Ballarat. This was a child.

I was taken aback. I had never before in Ballarat been approached by someone on the street needing help.

I stopped to talk to him.

He said he was 14-years-old, had been kicked out of his family home a week ago and had been sleeping at different friend's houses each night since.

From my experience writing for The Courier, I have learnt in depth about homelessness and housing issues in Ballarat, but in that moment I struggled to think of the most appropriate way to help this child.

I asked if he had somewhere to sleep that night.

He said he would be able to stay at another friend's house.

I asked if he had sought the help of housing and homelessness services like Uniting.

He said he had not done so yet but he knew where Uniting was and would walk there in the morning.

I ordered him a takeaway pizza for dinner from the restaurant nearby and left, unsure what else to do.

After discussions with my partner when I returned home, I decided to call the Ballarat police station, hoping they might be able to do a welfare check.

I could not stop thinking about the boy for the rest of the night and wondered what I should have done differently.

The next day I asked those who know best.

Uniting is the entry point for housing and homelessness services in Ballarat. People needing housing support talk to entry point staff who determine appropriate crisis responses and referrals.

Uniting acting coordinator of housing and homelessness Adam Liversage said the priority when meeting a child who needed help was to keep them safe.

He said this would mean contacting the local police station or child protection.

"We can't place a minor in a hotel or motel because they are 16 or under. It is a risk for us and it is a risk for them," he said.

"You need to get to the bottom of why they are not in the family home so it becomes a child protection issue.

"If we had a 14-year-old boy come to us we would not hesitate to call child protection."

Mr Liversage said other Ballarat agencies like Berry Street worked with families and children but not as a crisis response.

"There could be a number of reasons as to why a child is on the streets," he said.

"There is concern over the child's immediate safety to make sure the young person is safe and protected.

"Any response should be about the welfare of the child."

Mr Liversage said the best response in this situation was to contact the local police station, particularly if it was after business hours.

He said if you could ask the child details like their full name and age and it was within business hours, you could contact child protection.

Mr Liversage said if approached by an adult seeking help, the best response was to refer them to a service.

The referral should be to Uniting Ballarat on Dana Street for housing, homelessness or hunger issues. Anglicare and Salvation Army can also assist with an emergency food relief response.

If an adult is in need of assistance with accommodation after hours, call Homeless Crisis Response on 1800 825 955.

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The Crisis Response centre will assist in providing crisis accommodation for that night and send the person's details to Uniting Ballarat to connect with them the next day.

Mr Liversage said if asked for money, he would personally prefer to buy food for an individual or respond to a need like topping up their Myki for public transport.

"If they are hungry, buying food can be a good ice-breaking exercise to get their trust," he said.

"If they are a minor it might give you an opportunity to get their details to pass onto the police."

Rising housing prices are pushing more people into housing security and homelessness.

An Anglicare Rental Affordability Snapshot released last month revealed zero rentals in Victoria were affordable for a person on Youth Allowance and three were affordable for a person on JobSeeker.

Domestic and family violence, mental health issues, intergenerational homelessness, loss of employment, family breakdowns and lack of affordable housing are factors driving homelessness.

Uniting Ballarat data shows there are 125 households aged 25 and over on the priority list for housing and support, with 34 of those households in hotels or motels.

There are 53 people under 25 on the priority list with seven of those in hotels and motels.

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