Families Supportive Housing

Why do we need a supportive housing project for Melbourne families?

Launch Housing and  Uniting are going to develop an innovative central city supportive housing project for women and children.

Prompted by increasing requests for housing and support services from Melbourne mothers, the project will deliver a safe place for these families to live and be supported.

While the reasons these women are either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless are complex and varied, the solution to the problem is relatively simple. They need:

• a safe, affordable place to live; followed by

• support to deal with the underlying causes of their family and housing crisis.

This project will target some of the most vulnerable women and children in our communities who have been affected by family violence, mental illness, substance issues and interaction with the criminal justice system. To ensure these families recover and restore themselves as effectively as possible, the housing component will be complemented by a range of specialist services onsite.

The supportive housing model is a proven, practical and cost-effective way of responding to the housing and support needs of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. It offers the flexibility to tailor solutions to meet the unique needs of marginalised homeless populations.

Supportive housing programs have been successful in Australia as evidenced by a number of Common Ground sites around the country. In North America tens of thousands of units of housing have been developed and run by non-profit organisations, delivering positive social and economic outcomes in local communities.

Uniting is an innovative and trusted community service organisation within the Uniting Church with a reputation for delivering some of her most proactive, innovative and relevant community services in Victoria. We work with government, businesses, statutory services and other community partners to deliver holistic, wrap around services, while advocating for social justice, systemic change and best practice social policy.