Homelessness is usually a result of other forms of disadvantage building to a crisis; family violence, abuse and mental health are the major drivers into homelessness for young people.
A main priority for MCM is to prevent homelessness from occurring in the first place. To achieve this, we offer proactive services aimed at keeping young people within their family home (when possible), or in other stable accommodation.
We partner with Headspace, Kids Under Cover, schools and other local services working directly with young people, to identify and fulfil the needs of at risk young people, ultimately to prevent them entering the homelessness system.
Young people aged 12 - 24 years old, engaging in or displaying risk factors that are known to increase the likelihood of; reduced school engagement, family breakdown, youth justice involvement, or homelessness. Young people new to homelessness i.e. couch surfing, unstable housing or experiencing family violence.
Find out more about the Detour programReconnect works with young people aged 12 - 18 (or young people aged 12 - 21 who arrived in Australia in the last five years on humanitarian or family visas) to stabilise their living situation, achieve family reconciliation, and improve their level of engagement with work, education, training and their local community.
School-aged young people 12 - 17 years old who would benefit from support to address family conflict, school disengagement, contact with the justice system, unstable home life or house, and experiencing family violence
Reconnect is based in Braybrook and serves Maribyrnong, Brimbank, Moonee Valley and Melbourne CBD.
Contact a Reconnect worker on 03 9977 0023 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday to discuss referrals to this program.
Referrals to these services can be accepted from young people, family members, community agencies, other Reconnect services, schools, police, Centrelink, Child First services and Child Protection services.
Restart practitioners will work with the young person in a flexible and responsive way to promote change, support healing and strengthen family relationships.
Young people living at home, aged between 12 - 17 years, living in the Brimbank/Melton area. The service is for young people who are using violence in the home, placing them at increased risk of contact with police and the youth justice system; homelessness; substance use; poor mental health; and school disengagement.
Contact a Restart Worker on 03 9977 0024 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday to discuss referrals to this program.
Referrals to these services can be accepted from young people, family members, community agencies, other Reconnect services, schools, police, Centrelink, Child First services and Child Protection services.
Finding Solutions and Finding Solutions Plus are programs designed for young people and their families.
They provide case management support to help a young person remain or return to their parents when it’s safe to do so. Parents and children are given the opportunity to identify issues and behaviours that are negatively affecting the relationship and work to resolve them.
Access to these programs is via referral by the DHHS Child Protection Intake team or Child First by calling the Early Intervention Duty line on 03 8311 5458, 9am to 1pm, Monday to Friday.
Finding Solutions caters to people of secondary school age in the northern and western regions of Melbourne.
It helps to strengthen family relationships through:
Finding Solutions Plus supports people aged 10 to 15 in the northern region of Melbourne (Yarra, Banyule, Darebin, Nillumbik & Whittlesea).
This program is for adolescents who may have already had an out-of-home care placement and offers more intensive family support up to 12 months. Services also include individual and parent support as well as mediation.
MCM is a leader in the early intervention space and a main priority for us is to prevent homelessness from occurring in the first place.
To achieve this, we offer proactive services aimed at keeping young people with families (when possible) or in other stable accommodation.
We work towards pathways that keep young people at home by offering a range of educational and family-orientated services.
There are instances where a young person is having trouble at home and wants to leave or has recently left and needs a secure place to live.
Our Detour program provides resources that strengthen family and social networks and provides stability through case management.
Detour can provide access to accommodation, support from youth coaches and links to other services to help clients get to where they want to be.
Find out more about the Detour program
Keeping families connected is one way that MCM works to prevent young people entering the cycle of homelessness.
By strengthening family bonds and keeping connections open, we divert people away from homelessness and into secure accommodation.
Family breakdowns can happen to anyone. In some instances, a rapid response is needed to strengthen relationships to reduce the likelihood of a young person being placed in out-of-home care.
Finding Solutions and Finding Solutions Plus are programs designed for young people and their families.
They provide case management support to help a young person remain or return to their parents when it’s safe to do so.
Parents and children are given the opportunity to identify issues and behaviours that are negatively affecting the relationship and work to resolve them.
Finding Solutions caters to people of secondary school age in the northern and western regions of Melbourne.
It helps to strengthen family relationships through:
Finding Solutions Plus supports people aged 10 to 15 in the northern region of Melbourne (Yarra, Banyule, Darebin, Nillumbik & Whittlesea).
This program is for adolescents who may have already had an out-of-home care placement and offers more intensive family support up to 12 months. Services also include individual and parent support as well as mediation.
Access to these programs is via referral by the DHHS Child Protection Intake team or Child First by calling the Early Intervention Duty line on 03 8311 5458, 9am to 1pm, Monday to Friday.
The Family Reconciliation Mediation Program offers brokerage to people aged 16 to 25.
Through the allocation of funding each year, young people can access a range of supports such as family mediation, counselling, family therapies and respite.
Further information can be found on our Family Reconciliation and Mediation Program page.
Beyond the family, we also aim to prevent isolation from the community. Our Western Reconnect and Melbourne Gateway Reconnect programs provide support for young people to remain connected to family, school, training and their community by offering:
These programs are available for people aged 12 to 18. Western Reconnect is based in Braybrook and serves Maribyrnong, Brimbank and Moonee Valley and can be contacted on 03 9977 0023.
Melbourne Gateway Reconnect is based in and serves Melbourne CBD.
Referrals to these services can be accepted from young people, family members, community agencies, other Reconnect services, schools, police, Centrelink, Child First services and Child Protection services.
Homelessness can affect anyone, so education and awareness in the community is an important step towards prevention.
By raising awareness and promoting the support that’s available, we hope to stop the cycle in its tracks and intervene sooner.
Frontyard Youth Services is a 24-hour crisis accommodation centre in the CBD offering trauma-informed support to people aged 12 to 25.
Passionate about raising awareness, Frontyard works with schools to educate students on homelessness.
School groups are welcome to organise an education session with Frontyard where they learn about the reality of homelessness for young people in Melbourne.
If a person has already entered the homelessness cycle or is leaving care, we offer response services such as accommodation & case management.
Read moreOngoing support is also available that covers education & employment, health & wellbeing, living skills development & legal assistance.
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