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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.
We believe every young person deserves a safe place to call home. Our goal is to end youth homelessness by using a housing-first approach combined with up to four years of intensive, strengths-based, and client-centered support - otherwise known as our Youth Housing Initiative (YHI). Our integrated services help young people to stabilise housing, improve health and wellbeing, build essential life skills, and enhance community connections, including pathways to education and employment.
YHI is designed for young people aged 18-22 who are either homeless or at risk of homelessness. We assist individuals facing barriers such as mental health challenges, substance use, family violence, involvement in the justice system, or difficulties accessing education and employment services.
Referrals can be made through MCM youth refuges and local housing access points as vacancies become available.
YHI offers three types of accommodation, each providing different levels of support based on individual needs and progress toward independent living.
Properties are located in Werribee, Point Cook, and Footscray.
As Victoria’s only dedicated youth housing provider, MCM Housing offers social housing to low-income young people aged 18-24. With integrated tenancy management and services, YHI delivers consistent, coordinated support tailored to each young person’s unique needs. Learn more about MCM Housing here: www.mcmhousing.org.au/
Our team works closely with each young person, offering tailored and holistic support.
Case Management Support
Peer Support
YHI provides peer support from individuals with lived experience of homelessness. These peer workers offer holistic assistance focused on building relationships and independent living skills.
Therapeutic Support
Our in-house clinicians deliver specialised therapeutic support for young people who have experienced homelessness and mental health issues. This includes assessments, treatment plans, secondary consultations, and assistance with referrals to community-based mental health services.
For more information about the Youth Housing Initiative, please contact us at YHI@mcm.org.au.
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.
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.
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.
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Ongoing support is also available that covers education & employment, health & wellbeing, living skills development & legal assistance.
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