Disconnect in services leaves young people bouncing between hospitals and homelessness

MCM’s third annual Victorian Youth Homelessness Snapshot was launched today in partnership with Social Ventures Australia. This unique census reveals the urgent challenges faced by young people accessing MCM’s homelessness programs.

This year the Snapshot brings a regional perspective to the fore, drawing on the experiences of people accessing Quantum Support Services in Latrobe, Gippsland and exposing how gaps in infrastructure and service access can shape and constrain young people’s outcomes. 

The Snapshot was launched this morning by the Hon Nick Staikos, Minister for Housing, with support from Aunty Muriel Bamblett and Corey Harrison from Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency, Commissioner Ro Allen from the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, and young advocates with lived experience of homelessness. 

Findings from the Snapshot provide valuable insight into the experiences of one of Victoria’s most vulnerable cohorts, revealing how family violence, health, education, employment and chronic homelessness are deeply interconnected, despite often being treated as separate policy and service issues.

Key stats:

• High rates of family violence: 5 in 6 young people in Greater Melbourne and three-quarters in Latrobe/Gippsland grew up experiencing family violence. 

• Health emergencies: 1 in 2 young people across Greater Melbourne had attended a hospital emergency department for a mental health concern, with 17% having attended four or more times.  

• Self-harm and suicide risk: 3 in 5 young people in Greater Melbourne, and almost half in Latrobe/Gippsland, reported self-harm, suicidal ideation, or a suicide attempt. 

• Diminished engagement in study or work: 2 in 3 young people in Greater Melbourne and 3 in 5 in Latrobe/Gippsland are not engaged in study or work 

• Long-term homelessness: More than half of young people in both regions have been homeless for two years or more 

• First experience of homelessness: 1 in 3 of the young people in Greater Melbourne and 2 in 5 in Latrobe/Gippsland first experienced homelessness at 16 years or under. 

MCM CEO Paul Wappett said the data showed young people were being repeatedly discharged from hospital back into homelessness, with nowhere safe to recover. 

"Every young person in this snapshot has a story that starts with trauma and ends up in an emergency department, because there is nowhere else for them to go. Police, paramedics and hospital staff are working in a broken system and none of them can give a young person the home they need. That's not a job any of them signed up for, and it's not a job they should have to do." 

Intersectionality data continues to point towards compounding disadvantage and systemic inequality, with disproportionate numbers of First Nations young people, those identifying as LGBTIQA+, people from regional or rural areas, and young people from Culturally and Racially Marginalised backgrounds.

The 2026 Snapshot makes clear that too many children and young people are falling through the gaps before they receive the support they need. It calls for greater financial investment by the Victorian and Federal Governments, earlier intervention and stronger service integration. We must work together across government and across the community sector to address the systemic, interdependent root causes of youth homelessness in Victoria. 

About the Snapshot: 

Data was collected by frontline teams from 209 young people aged 15 to 24 years old accessing MCM and Quantum Support Services homelessness programs in Victoria on 1 April 2026.  

Programs include the state-wide specialist homelessness access point for young people Frontyard Youth Services, youth refuges, crisis accommodation, intensive case management programs, and specific refuges and crisis services for young women.

Read the report: