First Response Youth Service in Melton

The Hope Street First Response Youth Service is an innovative new model designed to respond to youth homelessness via a place-based approach in the north-western growth corridor of Melbourne. The service consists of two components – a youth refuge providing supported crisis accommodation, and a mobile outreach service available 365 days per year including after hours:

Youth Refuge
Youth Mobile Outreach Service

Youth Refuge

The service is being provided within a purpose-built youth refuge consisting of three separate buildings:

8-bed communal living building
2-bedroom family unit for young people and their children
an integrated consulting centre

The design is based on leading specialist youth-focused practice.

What does the refuge offer?

Service delivery is based on the enhanced youth refuge model aiming to improve outcomes for young people as a part of a homelessness prevention approach that includes access to:

short/longer term accommodation
emergency relief such as food, material aid or medication
immediate and short term services for general and specialist health; employment, education or training; legal and financial matters; recreational/social connectivity

Hope Street has launched the new youth refuge in partnership with the state government, philanthropic community, corporate sector, Melton City Council and local community members. This purpose-designed centre provides specialist wrap around support services for young people and young families experiencing homelessness. The First Response Youth Mobile Outreach Service works with the emergency accommodation centre, providing at risk young people with stable and safe accommodation and youth-specific supports.

How can young people access the refuge?

Young people must be:

16 - 25 years of age
individuals or part of a couple / family (eg siblings, single parent and child, couple and child)
(at risk of) experiencing homelessness and in crisis
linked to the Melton local government area as well as neighbouring LGAs

Please contact our First Response Youth Refuge Team on 0413 539 830 or

OUTCOMES SUMMARY, 2020-2021

101 young people including their children supported
106 support period¹
50.7% female
49.3% male
Annual target achieved

Learn more about the young people supported, and our impact, from the report below.

First Response Youth Refuge, Melton Report

MEDIA KIT: Hope Street First Response Youth Service in Melton

Youth Mobile Outreach Service

The First Response Youth Mobile Outreach Service establishes the first innovative youth homelessness and support mobile outreach crisis response in the City of Melton growth corridor, with an annual target of 100 young people/families.

The local government area of Melton has no specialist homelessness crisis response service - it is at least 27km to the nearest homelessness crisis response service and a limited VLine train service severely impacts young people's access to services. This service will significantly address young people's experience and disadvantage from the lack of homelessness support services due to the geographical isolation from the lack of social infrastructure.

The First Response Youth Mobile Outreach Service enhances the emergency response model and service delivery to young people utilising the Youth Refuge funded by the State Government.

What does the mobile outreach service offer?

Available 7 days a week from 9:30am to 10:30pm, our First Response Mobile Outreach Team will find, identify and engage with young people and young families who are (at risk of) experiencing homelessness in the Melton local government area and surrounding suburbs. Team members will go to where they are located, for example:

hospital
school
police station
Centrelink
other service/agency

A safe place to meet with young people can also be arranged if they are staying/sleeping on a friend's couch, in a car, in the park or the streets.

Young people will get help to be safe, navigate and access the Homelessness Service System and other services (eg health), find emergency accommodation, get food and/or material aid, and more. Support will be provided that is holistic, integrated, quality, effective and timely.

How can young people access the mobile outreach service?

Young people must be:

16 - 25 years of age
individuals or part of a couple / family (eg siblings, single parent and child, couple and child)
(at risk of) experiencing homelessness
in the Melton local government area or surrounding suburbs - includes Aintree, Brookfield, Burnside - Burnside Heights, Caroline Springs, Cobblebank - Strathtulloh, Diggers Rest, Eynesbury Township, Fraser Rise, Harkness, Hillside, Kurunjang, Melton, Melton South, Melton West, Rockbank, Rural Balance, Taylors Hill and Toolern Vale

Please contact our First Response Mobile Outreach Team on (03) 9132 4300 or

OUTCOMES SUMMARY, 2020-2021

132 young people supported over 141 support periods¹
Average support period of 32 days
45% female
55% male
Annual target exceeded by 32%

Learn more about the young people supported, and our impact, from the report below.

Download

First Response Youth Mobile Outreach Service, Melton Report

Hope Street First Response Youth Mobile Outreach Service in Melton Kit

Note:

Card holder reference in included kit instructions available for delivered kit only.
Individual kit items available in our First Response - Melton folder.

A support period is the length of time during which a client receives services from Hope Street. The support period ends when the client stops receiving those services, eg they exit one of our programs. Sometimes a young person/family (at risk of) experiencing homelessness requires more than one support period to ensure that they have every opportunity to secure stable accommodation and remain connected to their families, networks, education and employment. ↩