Foyer Plus
Melbourne Citymission has been a leader in the delivery of Foyer like models for several years. We currently manage several models of “Foyer Plus” across metropolitan Melbourne.
• The Precinct model – located in North Fitzroy
• The High Density model - Lion Garden located in the CBD and Ladder Hoddle Street located in Collingwood
• Neighbourhood model – dispersed transitional properties located in Inner South and North
Melbourne Citymission's Foyer Plus aims to provide effective intervention into the lives of young people aged 16-25 years, who are at risk of homelessness or dislocated from mainstream supports, by incorporating long term supported housing with links to education, employment and/or training and intensive casework support. The program aims to move young people through a transition from dependence to independence through highlighting the direct link between how holistic support can lead to securing a satisfying job or employability, and how this in turn can lead to a better quality of life.
Step Ahead
Melbourne Citymission’s Step Ahead program was the first foyer model response to young people, of its kind, in Victoria and was initially influenced by the European Foyer Model. The program originally began as a pilot program in September 2004 under the name of the Youth Transitions Model (YTM). In 2007 the program received recurrent funding from the Department of Human Services and was renamed the Step Ahead program.
Find out more about our Step Ahead program.
Ladder Hoddle Street
In 2009 a partnership between the AFL Players Association and the AFL Foundation, DHS Housing and Community Division, Melbourne Citymission and Yarra Community Housing ensured that the Foyer Model continued to evolve and Ladder Hoddle St was born. Ladder Hoddle Street is an integrated support program, similar to Step Ahead, for homeless young people in Melbourne. The Ladder Hoddle Street program provides up to two years of housing, links to employment, education and training and mentoring services for young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in order for them to develop independent living skills and community connections so that they can positively move on with their lives.
Find out more about Ladder Hoddle Street.
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The Precinct
In late 2010 we evolved again and the Precinct, another first of its kind in Australia opened.
There are a number of integrated services that make up the Precinct with the key goal being to give young people the opportunity to focus on their needs and to create a path out of homelessness. The Step Ahead self-contained units are a vital complement of the Precinct. These units, similarly to Step Ahead’s Lion Garden offer longer-term stability and security, and are a key stepping stone for a young person to explore their employment, education or training options.
Participants are housed in fully furnished, self-contained units through all of the Foyer Plus models - High Density, Precinct and Neighbourhood. The length of stay is dependent on which model you are involved in, receiving ongoing intensive motivational casework is standard across Melbourne Citymission Foyer Plus. The Precinct and Ladder Hoddle Street are for up to two years, while Lion Garden and the dispersed properties are for up to three years.
All young people who enter any of our Foyer Plus models are involved in various types of education, training and/or employment or are motivated to reengage, progress and focus on their studies and their future employment prospects. The case practice model utilised by Melbourne Citymission is informed by the concept of interdependence. This concept is used intentionally to highlight the needs of all young people to be emotionally and economically supported on their pathway to independence. All young people, once they have moved on from the Foyer Plus programs into other housing, are offered ‘Aftercare’. Aftercare offers up to 6 months of support after they have left the program. This provision has assisted with the transition from dependence to independence by allowing clients to feel that they are still being supported once they have moved out.
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