Social Infrastructure

Melbourne City Mission Youth Housing Initiative

Nationally, young people experiencing homelessness make up only 2.9% of social housing tenants, despite making up about half (54%) of all single people who seek help from homelessness services.

A quarter of Victoria’s homeless population are aged between 12 and 24 (making them one of the most overrepresented groups), and again, only 3% of social housing is allocated to this group.

Housing for young people is difficult to access due to their low incomes – the social housing system systemically excludes young people on this basis. In addition, landlords and agents overlook young people due to their limited/no rental history, perceived risk of behavioural issues, and the casual nature of work that young people are often employed in.

Transitional housing systems, which have remained largely unchanged since the 1990s, were created to address the needs of adults and are designed to respond to people in short-term crisis. They are doing little to provide a pathway to permanent housing and independence for young people.

It is estimated that there are 7,100 young people in Victoria experiencing or at risk of homelessness seeking medium- to long-term housing whose needs are not being met.1

Social Ventures Australia estimate. 32% of Australia’s homeless population is in Victoria and it is assumed the proportion of homelessness is consistent across age groups.

Sources:
1. Reimagining Social Housing for Young People MCM Submission to 10 Year Social and Affordable Housing Strategy. (2021). https://www.mcm.org.au/-/media/mcm/content-repository-files/mcm-submission-to-10-year-social-and-affordable-housing-strategy.pdf

Melbourne City Mission Youth Housing Initiative - Outdoor and sporting activities
Melbourne City Mission Youth Housing Initiative - Outdoor and sporting activities

How do we address this challenge?

To address this challenge, CIM has partnered with Melbourne City Mission, and their newly established Community Housing Provider, MCM Housing, to finance shared house dwellings to help establish MCM’s Youth Housing Initiative (“YHI”) in Melbourne.

The YHI is a 5-year housing and support program that aims to support young people experiencing homelessness to effectively transition to adulthood and exit homelessness. The YHI will provide integrated, sustained support comprising housing, case management and therapeutic support.

The investment aims to not only help establish the YHI pilot, but to also help assess the effectiveness and appropriateness of the YHI in improving outcomes for vulnerable young people, and ultimately build a case for ongoing government funding for a program that is scalable and replicable.

To date, CIM’s managed funds have financed the acquisition of 10 dwellings to establish the shared housing component of the YHI Pilot.

YHI Overview

The program is designed to build the independence and resilience of young people experiencing homelessness by addressing the complex personal and structural causes of their homelessness.

The three pillars of the YHI model are:

  1. Housing: each young person will be provided stable housing for up to five years. Housing options are flexible and designed to build capacity to maintain independent rentals at the conclusion of the program. The model is also designed to provide after care support following the young person exiting YHI housing, to ensure a successful transition to independent rentals.
  2. Case management and coaching: aims to provide young people with the necessary skills to break the cycle of homelessness permanently and provide a pathway to independence. Key elements of support include education and employment support, living skills development, community connections and health and wellbeing.
  3. Therapeutic support: will focus on supporting young people to develop positive strategies for dealing with stress and anxiety, emotional regulation, improved interpersonal relationships, reduced substance abuse, and improved confidence and self-worth.

Impact Partner Profile – Melbourne City Mission

Established in 1854, MCM is one of Victoria’s longest serving community service organisations and are highly reputable in their work supporting youth at risk.

MCM provides a broad range of support in the areas of homelessness, disability, palliative care, early childhood intervention, early years, and education, operating throughout metropolitan Melbourne and surrounding regional areas.

MCM Housing is a registered housing provider and wholly owned subsidiary of MCM, established in 2022 to deliver and manage housing and disrupt trajectories of disadvantage associated with housing insecurity.

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