By Noel Towell
Young Victorians are most at risk of being homeless and dropping out of school in the areas of western Melbourne, Dandenong, Darebin, Casey and Greater Geelong.
A research program by charity Launch Housing has used data on crime, homelessness and unemployment across Victoria’s 76 council areas to map the risk profile for youngsters in each area.
The five “hot spots” were identified as areas where youth population was soaring and risk factors for homelessness among young people – family violence, unemployment and disengagement from education or training – were prevalent.
The findings will be used in a push for an expansion of Launch Housing’s Youth Foyer program, which the charity says has changed hundreds of young lives in its first 10 years.
Foyer sites provide a home – a studio apartment – and mentoring and other support for young people who might otherwise be on the streets, on the condition they stick with school, tertiary study or training.
The program has housed nearly 580 children and young people at its two locations – Glen Waverley and Broadmeadows – since its inception 11 years ago and operates in partnership with the Brotherhood of St Laurence and about $3.5 million in annual state government funding.
Kayla Eldridge (left) and Phillip Di say the time they spent living in Launch Housing Youth Foyers changed their lives for the better.Credit: Chris Hopkins
Foyer manager Rebecca Lee argued the service had delivered outstanding value for money by diverting hundreds of young people from dependence on the health, justice and welfare systems.
Lee referred to a 2019 study by consulting giant KPMG claimed community benefits of $1.60 for every $1 invested in Foyer sites, as a concerted push is under way for government funding for new sites in the five council areas where the need is most acute.
“The transformation of all our young people is pretty powerful,” Lee said.
“They’re engaged leaders in their community ... we’ve supported a lot of people, we’ve changed a lot of lives.”
Kayla Eldridge was one of the first residents of the Broadmeadows Foyer site, which opened its doors in 2014 in partnership with the Kangan Institute of TAFE. She said the service saved her from homelessness and put her on the path to a university education and a successful career as a clinical trials co-ordinator with a major regional health service.
“Having that affordable and stable accommodation essentially helped me to continue to engage in school,” Eldridge said.
“That kind of set me up to have a really good foundation … to build my future.”
Another past Foyer resident, Phillip Di, has made a life as an e-commerce entrepreneur, and said that as a teenager who liked making money but with nowhere to live, he might have found himself on the wrong side of the law.
“Having that stability, having housing for two years … meant not having the pressure to go down that path,” Di said.
Housing Minister Harriet Shing said the government was determined to support Launch’s Youth Foyer program, but her office did not respond before deadline about funding new sites.
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