Around one million young people aged 12 – 25 live in Victoria, Australia.
Most go to school or have a job.
Most have good health, a stable home and support from parents and friends, but a growing number don’t.
Including 6,117 young Victorians who are homeless on any given night.
Frontyard works with young people in Victoria to address their physical, emotional and social needs.
Services are available to any young person aged 12-25. This year Frontyard:

1 front door / 13 services working together /
55 staff working alongside young people
Frontyard is the largest service of its type in Victoria.






and Recreational Programs

Age
The average age of Frontyard clients was 19,
the youngest person presenting to Frontyard was 12.
Gender
47% per cent of Frontyard’s clients were young women. 52% per cent were young men. 1% were transgender young people.
Family Violence
Family Relationships
Many young people had experienced family breakdown.
21% of young people had been in state/foster care.
32% had no contact with their family.

Country of Origin
30% of young people presenting to Frontyard were born outside of Australia.


Housing
Two out of three young people presenting to Frontyard had NO housing.

There are only 15 ‘Youth Refuges’ in Victoria that provide emergency accommodation.
This adds up to 109 refuge beds for 6,117 homeless young people.
Melbourne City Mission welcomes the recent state governments announcement by the Hon. Martin Foley MP, of a 24 bed youth refuge in the CBD to be run by Melbourne City Mission, and scheduled to be opened in late 2018.

THOSE WHO GOT A REFUGE BED
Got up to 6 weeks of accommodation, support to find longer-term housing and 24/7 care from trained staff.
THE ONES WHO MISSED OUT
Were sent overnight to backpacker accommodation, cheap motels, rooming houses and caravan parks, with no on-site support.


FRONTYARD RELUCTANTLY SPENDS
More than $100,000 a year paying for this kind of accommodation, which does nothing to meaningfully break the cycle of homelessness.
Frontyard wants more housing and support options for young people, including new refuge beds


Health and Wellbeing
29% of young people had concerns about their health and wellbeing.
18% had not seen a nurse or doctor in the past 12 months.

Mental Health
43% of young people had a mental health diagnosis.
35% had concerns about their current mental health.

Mental Health and Substance Use
Mental health issues and drug and alcohol use are often co-occurring. 41% of young people presenting to Frontyard had identified concerns
around both their mental health and drug/alcohol use.

There are limited services for young people who have a dual diagnosis and additional complexity such as homelessness.
WE NEED TO FIX THIS

Legal Issues
Many young people also came to Frontyard in poor financial health, struggling to cover the cost of accommodation, food and other necessities.
49% of young people had fines or debts. 29% had other legal concerns.

With our help, many of these fines will be withdrawn or dismissed because of the young person’s homelessness, mental health or drug and alcohol issues. But only after a time-consuming process that will take, on average, 12 months.
It’s time for some common sense

Education
Young people who came to Frontyard faced major barriers to education and employment.
Whilst 81% of young Australians aged 15 – 24 are ‘fully engaged’ in study or work: