Housing and Community Building - Office for Housing

The mission of the Office of Housing is to work in partnership to increase housing options for low income Victorians and to strengthen communities.

Each year thousands of Victorians find themselves homeless or at serious risk of homelessness. The Office of Housing is committed to providing support and pathways into secure, affordable and appropriate homes for all Victorians.

The Office of Housing also strives to cultivate opportunity in disadvantaged communities. Their programs and services facilitate employment and training, promote health and wellbeing, administer funds and grants to develop housing and focus on environmentally sustainable practices.

The Office of Housing has been undertaking the Youth Homelessness Action Plan with the aim of working towards a more integrated and holistic service response for young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The following initiatives are offered through the Youth Homelessness Action Plan:

Youth Employment Education and Training Initiative (YEETI)

The Youth Employment Education and Training Initiative assists young people aged 15-25years who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and have a long-term history of difficulties in education, employment or accommodation.

The YEETI aims to enable young people to make a successful transition from the homelessness service system to independence through education, training or employment outcomes.

Family Reconciliation and Mediation Program (FRMP)

The Family Reconciliation and Mediation Program targets young people aged 15-25years who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, with a focus on both those newly homeless and those that have been homeless for some time.

The FRMP provides services for families and young people to assist family reconciliation and encourage young people to return to home where appropriate, or to re-establish positive links with close relatives and stay at school.

Housing Focused Independent Living Skills Programs incorporating:

Young People Leaving Care Housing and Support Initiative

The leaving care initiatives target young people aged 15-25years who are leaving care (at risk of homelessness), who with support will have the capacity to move to independent living over a 12month case managed period.

The support provided during this time will aim to assist young people participating in the program to develop life skills, access long-term housing, link into community supports and explore and access employment, education and training options.

Service System Intervention Projects (SSIP)

The Service System Intervention Projects aim to assist sub-groups of young people aged 15-25years who are vulnerable, homeless or 'at risk' of homelessness, and whom require further assistance and support than that provided by existing services. SSIP's are time-limited projects that aim to enhance the responsiveness of the Homelessness Service Sector in working with these young people.

The Housing and Community Building division at DHS also incorporates Neighbourhood Renewal.

Neighbourhood Renewal

The Victorian Government is committed to building cohesive communities and reducing inequalities. Neighbourhood Renewal is a new approach that brings together the resources and ideas of residents, governments, businesses and community groups to tackle disadvantage in areas with concentrations of public housing.

Nineteen projects have been progressively launched around Victoria since 2001. To narrow the gap between some of the most disadvantaged communities and the rest of the State, Neighbourhood Renewal is:

• increasing people's pride and participation in the community
• enhancing housing and the physical environment
• lifting employment, training and education opportunities and expand local economic activities
• improving personal safety and reducing crime
• promoting health and wellbeing; and
• increasing access to services and improving government responsiveness (joined-up government).

Neighbourhood Renewal is making a real difference for people and places that have missed out on Victoria's growing prosperity. It is generating jobs, improving housing, creating safer streets and enabling residents to play a leading role in the transformation of their communities.

Neighbourhood Renewal provides a platform to build from. It connects different levels of government, State Government departments, non-government organisations and local businesses, with residents. Residents comprise at least 50% of the governance structure and are involved in the development of a local action plan and setting priorities.

This platform enables resources to be delivered and services provided in ways previously not possible. Police have a point of connection with the community and can work with high priority issues identified by the residents. Schools can change the way they operate and work with the local community to address truancy, literacy and numeracy and pathways into employment or training.

In this context, young people in Neighbourhood Renewal projects are being actively engaged in making a difference in their neighbourhood and are being supported to be involved in local planning and decision-making structures to have direct input into the renewal of their communities.

Neighbourhood Renewal strategies which have a focus on young people include:

• Increasing physical activity and improving nutrition through initiatives such as the redevelopment of parks; developing skate Parks and walking tracks as well as health promotion programs such as 'Be Active Eat Well' and partnerships with schools to implement the Walking School and Breakfast Clubs.
• Improving access to health and wellbeing services through partnership with local agencies and organisations to improve the responsiveness of services to young people as well as Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) and disability groups.
• Improving mental health and social connectedness through peer support and mentoring, youth leadership and governance initiatives, youth committees, gambling prevention programs, homework groups, festivals and other recreation opportunities.
• Increasing safety and reducing crime through Local Priority Policing, prevention and early intervention programs around family violence, prevention of antisocial behaviour and truancy as well as recreation and arts programs.
• Increased employment learning and expanded local economic opportunities through employment programs, school and community based as well as programs focussed at school retention for young people. Programs also include learning and involvement for parents and guardians and community enterprise support and development.

For further information regarding Neighbourhood Renewal including current project sites go to http://www.neighbourhoodrenewal.vic.gov.au

The Office of Housing also funds the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP), and the Transitional Housing Management Program (THM), which in part target young people. To find out more about either of these programs or the Office of Housing go to: http://www.housing.vic.gov.au

To find out more about the Youth Employment Education and Training Initiative go to http://www.yeeti.org.au

For further information regarding the Family Reconciliation and Mediation Program visit http://www.frmp.org.au

For further information regarding homelessness assistance and to access the Youth Homelessness Action Plan visit http://www.homelessness.vic.gov.au