In the past decade, homelessness in Australia has risen by 30 per cent.
And two in every five Victorians experiencing homelessness are under 25 years old.
Currently, there are only 15 'youth refuges' in Victoria that provide emergency accommodation for those who are most in need.
Which adds up to 109 refuge beds for 6,117 homeless young people.
Those who got a bed... Got up to 6 weeks of accommodation, support to find longer-term housing and 24/7 care from trained staff.
The ones who missed out... Were sent overnight to backpacker accommodation, cheap motels, rooming houses and caravan parks, with no on-site support, which does nothing to meaningfully break the cycle of homelessness.
It requires an integrated approach, and an understanding of the deeper issues that put young people at risk of homelessness in the first place.
So while we're busily creating more refuge beds in new our world-first 24/7 crisis accommodation centre, we're also...
We want to create holistic opportunities to engage with Melbourne's at risk youth, so we can put an end to youth homelessness before it becomes entrenched.