Govt Grant to Kids Under Cover Marks 25th Anniversary

Homelessness organisation, Kids Under Cover has been granted $2.6 million over three years from the Victorian Government as part of the Not for Profit’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

Victorian Minister for Housing Wendy Lovell announced the funding saying it would assist Kids Under Cover to continue its ongoing work with vulnerable young people between the ages of 12 and 25 who are either already homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Lovell said Kids Under Cover provides real, practical assistance to young people and has helped many young people avoid homelessness and stay to in touch with their local community.

“In addition to putting a roof over a young person’s head, Kids Under Cover also provides assistance through mentoring and scholarships,” Lovell said.

The organisation delivers three main programs:

• building one and two-bedroom studios in the backyards of parents’ or carers’ homes to keep young people connected to family and a healthy home environment;

• providing scholarships to support young people to continue their education; and

• linking young people to specially trained adult mentors.

“This new funding from the Victorian Property Fund provides a strong vote of confidence in the efficacy of Kids Under Cover’s programs and the outcomes we achieve,” National CEO of Kids Under Cover, Jo Swift said.

“This Grant will enable the construction of an additional 52 studios over the next 3 years, which will significantly assist with meeting the current demand in Victoria of 2-3 studio requests per week.”

The report showed that around 25,000 children and young people in Australia were homeless, with many more at risk of homelessness or surviving in grossly inadequate housing. It also highlighted a huge gap in the housing support provided for young people in crisis and the lack of properly resourced and coordinated support services for homeless young people.

Since it started in 1989, Kids Under Cover says it has has supported more than 2,800 young people at risk of homeless with a secure home through its Studio Program.

Since 2010 the Victorian Coalition Government has allocated $8.5 million to Kids Under Cover which includes $3.7 from the Department of Human Services and $4.8 million from the Victorian Property Fund.