Melbourne nights are beautiful in winter. Warm pub fires, cool strolls by the river, soft light reflected on wet pavement. But for Victorians experiencing homelessness, the city can become freezing, inhospitable and dangerous.
Many are young, and have experienced family violence or an unstable home environment. These people include 23-year old Coco, who says: “I had a rough childhood from the get-go.” Living in fear, and feeling hurt and scared was the norm. “It was all I knew. I thought I just had to suck it up.”
Coco was travelling to university in the early hours of the morning, and returning to work long hours in the family business. “If I’d have stayed in my family home, I don’t think I would have been able to stay in uni,” she says.
More than 30,000 Victorians were classified as experiencing homelessness in the 2021census(including people in temporary lodgings), and of these, more than 7,000 were young people (aged 12-24). The number of homeless young people is growing, with people aged 19-24 experiencing the highest rate of homelessness of all age groups. The increasing lack of affordable housing nationally – and the extra challenge of trying to enter a tight rental market for the first time – is making it harder than ever to break the cycle.
Launch Housingis one organisation offering solutions to this problem. This winter, as it has throughout every season for the past 10 years, the Melbourne-based community housing and homelessness organisation will support up to 40 young people at each of itsEducation First Youth (EFY) Foyers,helping them stay off the streets by providing a safe home and support to start a new journey to long-term independence.
An innovative approach to breaking the cycle
Fiona Costolloe is the group manager of families and new beginnings at Launch Housing, and sees first-hand the impact of education in keeping young people out of homelessness. “There is a significant wage and employment rate gap between someone who drops out of school in year 10 versus year 12,” she says, “and those who complete some form of tertiary study compared to people who don’t.”
Fiona Costolloe. Photo supplied by Launch Housing. Photographer: Mat Lynn.
In its work to close this gap, Launch Housing pioneered the EFY Foyer model in Victoria, and in partnership with the Brotherhood of St Laurence, and the Holmesglen and Kangan institutes, it runs two EFY Foyers in Melbourne: at Glen Waverley in the east and Broadmeadows in the north. As well as providing affordable accommodation, the foyers support young residents to study, learn skills for independent living, form strong social and community connections, and focus on health and wellbeing.
These two EFY Foyers offer purpose-built student housing for people aged 16 to 24 who are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness, and, as the name suggests, they prioritise education and employment.
Through its partnership with TAFE at each site, Launch Housing is able to integrate strong relationships with teaching staff to support residents’ commitment to continued learning. The foyers provide safe, stable and affordable homes for young people while they complete their education, as well as employment, life skills and wraparound support that helps set up young residents to go on to lead fulfilling, independent lives.
Since its launch 10 years ago, the EFY Foyer model has helped nearly 600 young people build a brighter future.
Integrating stable housing with essential learning
A Victorianparliamentary enquiryinto homelessness in 2020 found that up to 70% of Australians who sought help from specialist homelessness services (SHS) left school before completing year 12 and never completed their education; 73% of young people accessing SHS on their ownwere notenrolled in any form of training or education.
Launch Housing’s Education First Youth (EFY) Foyer. Photo supplied by Launch Housing. Photographer: Mat Lynn.
“Homelessness has a negative impact on the potential of young people to be successful, and young people are particularly vulnerable to losing their connection to educational opportunities,” Costolloe says. “This can be turned around if the right housing and support is in place.”
A 2021 Australian Housing and Urban Research Institutereportnoted the types of support that people experiencing homelessness require are not necessarily well integrated and fail to consider how many are living with the additional challenges of family violence and mental health issues.
The foyer model is based on a philosophy that considers young people based on their potential, strengths and future aspirations. It incorporates six “service offers”: education, employment, health and wellbeing, social connections, civic participation, and housing and living skills. Furthermore, Costolloe says, by partnering with organisations in the local community outside the homelessness sector, foyer staff are able to provide nuanced support so young people can gain independence and exit into a stable future.
“The six service offers work to support young people with training, activities, opportunities, networks and resources that are flexibly delivered and tailored to each young resident’s needs and aspirations,” Costolloe says.
Helping young residents thrive is a group effort. Local councils provide foyer students with access to gyms and aquatic centres; AFL clubs offer volunteering opportunities; Victoria Legal Aid provides advice and information; specialist community organisations, including the Centre for Multicultural Youth and Minus18, provide social education opportunities; and retail, social enterprise and hospitality groups such as Grill’d, HoMie and For Change Co, create training and employment opportunities.
Launch Housing’s Education First Youth (EFY) Foyer. Photo supplied by Launch Housing. Photographer: Mat Lynn.
Launch Housing’s foyers also provide every student with communal spaces and a private place to call home: their own studio unit with a bathroom and kitchen facilities. This gives them security, autonomy and community while they study.
The life-changing nature of Education First Youth Foyers cannot be overstated, Costolloe says. “They offer an effective, evidence-based solution to youth homelessness, enabling young people to overcome intergenerational cycles of disadvantage and unlock their full potential.”
Theresultscan be transformative. In 2022-23, 84% of graduates from the program were studying and/or employed when they completed the program – almost on par with the national average. Residents of the foyers were twice as likely as other young people experiencing homelessness to be employed or enrolled in study after their support ended.
In 2021,80% of peoplewho left Australian youth foyers exited into safe and stable housing, while 65% secured employment, and foyer graduates were 60% less likely to be involved in the justice system.
Real-world impact that changes lives for good
Coco learned about EFY Foyers from a trusted friend. Together, they read more about Launch Housing’s EFY Foyers and their power to break the cycle of homelessness early and for good. Coco submitted her application. Soon after, she finally had her own space, where she could feel safe, secure and supported.
Coco, photo supplied by Launch Housing. Photographer: Mat Lynn.
Now, Coco is taking part in workshops and activities that are making her more confident that she can live independently when the time comes. “The workshops cover everything,” she says. “Meal planning, how to rent a place, how to budget. Everything.” She’s only a year away from graduating and starting a new life.
There aren’t enough places for everyone. As winter closes in, the risk for young people increases, and Launch Housing receives 30 applications for every room that becomes available at its EFY Foyers.
But with public support, it can continue to deliver strong health, employment and housing outcomes for hundreds of vulnerable young people, and give those like Coco a new way forward.
“Before I felt like I was going around in circles,” she says. “No matter how far I walked, I came back to the same place. Now I feel like my life has purpose.”
Support Launch Housing to break the cycle of homelessness this winter.