Youth Housing First

Housing first for young people leaving care

The Youth Housing First (YHF) Partnership is a groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind initiative in Australia, designed to provide rapid, stable housing and wraparound support to young people leaving care in Victoria.

A collaboration between MCM, Junction Support Services, and Quantum Support Services, and funded by the Department of Families, Fairness, and Housing (DFFH), the pilot program will offer sustainable housing solutions and integrated support services for 67 young people over 5 years.

Currently there is no guaranteed housing pathway for young people leaving care in Victoria. As a result, 30% of young people experience homelessness within three years of leaving care. This program will be a game changer for those young people giving them direct access to housing and support.

This initiative is about more than just housing—it’s about opportunity, dignity, and reducing the risk of young people entering the homelessness service system, enabling young people to positively transition into adulthood.

What does Youth Housing First do?

Through our flexible support young people gain and retain access to housing, have increased personal physical and mental health, community participation, sustained housing and safety and well-being outcomes.

The service model is grounded in best practice Housing First, Advantaged Thinking, and Sustaining Tenancies principles, ensuring our support it flexible, adaptable, tailored and trauma informed.

About Housing First

Housing First is an evidence-based model that prioritises stable housing as the foundation for positive life outcomes. By ensuring that young people have a safe place to call home, the YHF Partnership will empower them to focus on education, employment, and personal growth.

About the Youth Housing First program

The program offers both tailored support and housing for a three year + period to support young people to transition well to independence.

Our objectives

The service objectives of the Youth Housing First program include:

Provision of two-year flexible, tailored support packages to 67 young people over a five-year period
Access to social housing properties ideally as soon as possible and within the first 6 months of a young persons’ support package commencing
Delivery of culturally safe, client-led support for Aboriginal young people

Criteria

The program will support three cohorts of young people aged between 16.5 to 18 years (at the point of referral) who are:

Leaving residential care and who are on, or were on, an eligible order on or after their 16th birthday. Residential care includes lead tenant arrangements.
Leaving a custodial facility and who have been on an eligible order and in care on or after their 16th birthday.
Leaving or have left residential, kinship, foster or permanent care, and are at immediate risk of homelessness within 6 months of leaving care, and who are, or were on, an eligible order on or after their 16th birthday.

Eligible order means:

long term care order
care by Secretary order
permanent care order
family reunification order.

Referrals

Young people can be referred into the program by DFFH / Child Protection. Intake and allocation into the program occur in a monthly panel meeting.

Areas we cover

The partnership will support all clients referred in South-East Metro Melbourne DFFH areas - Inner Gippsland, Outer Gippsland and Ovens Murray and Goulburn.

MCM Southern Melbourne Bayside/Peninsula Inner Easter Melbourne Outer Eastern Melbourne youthhousingfirst@mcm.org.au
Junction Support Services Goulburn Ovens Murray betterfuturesintake@junction.org.au
Quantum Support Services Inner Gippsland Outer Gippsland betterfuturesintake@quantum.org