Our Programs

Building brighter futures for young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness

Our goal is to prevent and end youth homelessness by giving young people the space and support they need to thrive.

We seek to intervene early to alleviate pressures that lead to homelessness or out-of-home care placements. The combination of our Studio and Scholarship Programs support young people to complete their education and develop independence.

Beyond our well-known and highly effective Studio Program and our Scholarship Program, we’re continuously working to develop and refine the way we can support young people and their families. We do this by regularly improving and updating our studio design, seeking feedback from young people and carers to learn how we can operate our programs better, ensuring all studio assets are maintained to the highest possible standards and piloting new projects and new initiatives to identify gaps and solutions to continue helping new cohorts of young people who are homeless or at high risk of homelessness.

Studio Program

We build relocatable, one and two bedroom studios, with a bathroom, in the backyard of a family or carer’s home. The extra room relieves overcrowding, eases tension and provides young people with a secure and stable environment. Each studio provides a stable space for a young person to study, develop independent living skills, and to grow.

The studio remains in place for as long as it’s required. Kids Under Cover will relocate a studio up to four times during its lifetime, to help other families in need.

Village 21

Village 21 is a supported accommodation model developed in partnership between Kids Under Cover and Anglicare Victoria.

Each Village 21 project includes three 2-bedroom studios co-located with shared kitchen, lounge, dining and laundry facilities with a key practitioner and two live-in mentors that create a supportive environment where young people can develop independent living skills.

Scholarships Program

We complement our Studio Program with the delivery of scholarships for education or job training, offsetting basic education costs to empower young people to achieve their goals.

Not only are our scholarships awarded to young people residing in our studio, but also their siblings in the main home –helping to break the cycle of poverty and disadvantage. Our scholarships give young people the support they need to stay in school.

Innovations and Projects

We work closely with our partners, supporters, and the community to collaboratively end youth homelessness.

We're continually seeking new ways to scale our solutions and increase the impact we can have towards building brighter futures for young people.

Resources and helpful information for young people

At Kids Under Cover we work directly with Community Service Organisations to deliver our programs. All studios are allocated to young people in need through referrals via Case Workers and other Support Organisations.

While we don't typically liaise directly with young people through the application process, we understand that young people might find themselves looking for support and resources on our website. So we have curated some links to useful information and resources that could be useful for young people seeking help or information.