Funding was applied for through the Youth Supported Accommodation Assistance Programme (YSAAP) at the beginning of the 1986/87 financial year. Funding for the purchase of suitable accommodation was also applied for under the Crisis Accommodation Programme (CAP). Both of these funding applications were successful. The Youth Housing Project began tentative operations in November 1986.

Approved funding levels allowed for the employment of one Youth Housing Worker. This position was advertised and filled in January 1987.

Approvals for the purchase of accommodation were received in March 1987. The process of sourcing premises suitable to the needs of Housing Project tenants took up a large part of the first half of 1987. In the time that these premises were being sought the Wooloowin property was used as a base for the Youth Housing Project. The upstairs area, comprising of a three bedroom, self-contained house, was used to accommodate a maximum of three (3) young people, both male and female. The downstairs flat area was used to accommodate the Youth Housing Project office and as an interim training flat for residents of Kedron Lodge. The maximum amount of accommodation available during this time allowed four people to utilise the project.

The acquisition of permanent project premises in August and October 1987 increased the amount of accommodation available to tenants and the range of options from which they were able to choose. Once the acquisition of permanent project premises happened, the maximum number of tenants accommodated at any one time was seven young people. Five young people in flats and two young people in share house style accommodation.

While this number of tenants was within the maximum number of eight and well within the estimates stated in the original submission for funding, it soon became apparent that the work load exceeded that which could be executed by one worker.

Re-Funding

At the beginning of the 87/88 financial year an application for increased funding was submitted under the YSAAP programme. One extra salary was applied for and an increase in operating costs. It was evident that to fully execute the role of an autonomous Youth Housing Project it would require at least two full-time Youth Housing Workers.

A further allocation for the rental of separate office space was sought. It had become evident that a separation of support and accommodation functions was desirable.

Both of the refunding aspects were granted. Funds were now available to employ one more Youth Housing Worker and to rent an office starting from January 1988.

Premises

The CAP funded properties acquired in 1987 consisted of a 4 x 1 bedroom brick flat situated at Wilston and a 4 bedroom house in Kedron.

In seeking out these properties a number of major considerations were taken into account.

1. Quality – It was felt that although allocated funds were limited the highest quality accommodation that could be acquired should be acquired. The provision of quality accommodation was seen as imperative if a responsible and concerned response was to be expected from project tenants.
2. Privacy – Whether a project tenant choose to be accommodated in a single bedroom flat or in a shared environment it was seen as important to limit the intrusions on the individuals’ privacy. With this in mind, the one bedroom flats were limited in use to accommodate one single person or couples. The shared house provided well divided space with two lounges, two balconies, two bathrooms/toilets and separate access to each of the four bedrooms.
3. Public Transport – It was obvious that young people on limited incomes resort to public transport quite frequently. It was therefore necessary to have access to public transport at hand.
4. Choices – It was seen as desirable that prospective project tenants be able to choose a style of accommodation that matched their style of life. The purchase of single flats and shared house were seen as the beginning of this offer of choices.
5. Neighbourhood – It was seen as desirable to locate project premises in areas that had established “neighbourhood” style infra-structures. Such establishments as corner stores, libraries, parks and so on were seen as beneficial to individuals who were attempting to integrate with the wider community. The decision to seek out established neighbourhoods did cause some problems as the presence of young people was perceived as a threat. This was difficult to overcome however some strategies were put into place to alleviate this problem.

Staffing

One Youth Housing Worker had been employed since January ’87. The duties of a Youth Housing Support Worker were and continue to be many and varied. The dominant roles in 1987 were:-

1. To locate and acquire appropriate premises.
2. Provide supported, unsupervised accommodation for a maximum of eight (8) tenants.
3. Fulfil the roles and responsibilities of landlord.
4. Liaise with relevant bodies engaged in the Youth Housing Project and service development  arenas.
5. Attempt to educate communities on youth accommodation issues.

Given the granting of an extra salary in the 1988 year, the Youth Housing Worker role was divided rather than expanded. This was due to a number of the non-service provider roles having suffered in 1987 because of the lack of available staff hours and the demands of project tenants. With the establishment of office premises the need for a reception/administration role was heightened.

A shared flat was established through a partnership with Young Parents Program, with YHP providing tenancy management and YPP providing support.

On the Twenty-Fifth day of July 1990, the Youth Housing Project became an entity of its own as an Incorporated Association.

On the Eighth day of May 1991, the Youth Housing Project received Sanction enabling them to hold fundraising activities within Queensland.

In January funding became available for a joint project for housing young pregnant and parenting women. In May two workers were employed part time working within the two agencies. Suitable properties were obtained in the later part of the year. In the late 90’s YHP became the support and tenancy management agency with the arrangement between YHP and YPP ending.

In July 2000, the Youth Housing Project received endorsement as a Deductible Gift Recipient and as an Income Exempt Charitable Entity from the Australian Taxation Office.

Youth Housing Project was provided with an extra property through the CAP Headlease Program to be used as a share house through collaboration with Youth Advocacy Service and Community Connections. YHP also increased their quota of Same House Different Landlord properties by another two properties.

The Youth Housing Project currently holds under the CAP program two x four unit complexes located in the Nundah area, owned by the Dept of Housing and funding through the Dept of Housing for an extra five private rental properties which are located throughout the Inner Northern suburbs. We are provided a further four properties under the Same House Different Landlord program with the Dept of Housing also located in the Inner Northern suburbs. The Dept of Housing also funds another Headlease property to operate under a “Foyer” type model. Under an agreement with the Lions Youth Emergency Accommodation Centre, YHP now provides property and tenancy management to their seven unit complex located in the Moreton Shire. This brings the current number of properties managed and supported by YHP to Twenty-five.

The Youth Housing Project met all the regulatory requirements to become a Registered Community Housing Provider.  Date of registration 26^th November 2015.  YHP can now request additional housing through Community Housing Programs.

Staffing

The Youth Housing Project currently is funded through the Qld State Government for a full time Manager, two full time Housing Support Workers, a part time Tenancy Management Worker (20 hours), a part time Administration/Assistant Tenancy Worker (12 hours) and a part time Accountant (6 hours).

The Agreement with Lions Youth Emergency Accommodation Centre (LYEAC) ends as they close the program and sell the property.

A decision was made to not renew the share house property lease under CAP Headlease Program and to rent two single bedroom units in its place.  This bought the total CAP Headlease properties held by YHP up to 7.

The Department of Housing approve a further 3 Same House Different Landlord properties to be added to YHP’s quota making a total of 7 Same House Different Landlord properties for YHP.

YHP was successful in gaining approval for the addition to their community housing portfolio of three Community Rent Scheme headlease properties.  These were sourced and operational by early May.

YHP was successful in finding a sponsor for their “Sponsor a Homeless Young Person” program and sourced a property in August.  The sponsor is not only paying for the rental of this property but also for the weekly support worker and property & tenancy management hours to provide the necessary support and assistance needed to sustain the tenancy.  This sponsor continues to this day to sponsor this property and the worker hours.

YHP had its first compliance review under the National Regulatory System for Community Housing Providers.  The outcome of the review was that YHP met all requirements of the review.  The next review is due in 2020.

YHP was successful in adding a further three Community Rent Scheme headlease properties to their portfolio. These were sourced and operational by July. YHP now holds a total of 6 Community Rent Scheme and 7 Same House Different Landlord properties under their community housing program.

YHP was successful in finding a second sponsor for their “Sponsor a Homeless Young Person” program and sourced a property in February.  The sponsor is not only paying for the rental of this property but also for the weekly support worker and property & tenancy management hours to provide the necessary support and assistance needed to sustain the tenancy.  This sponsor continues to this day to sponsor this property and the worker hours.

This brings YHP’s property portfolio up to 30 properties:

• 15 properties under the Crisis Accommodation Program
• 13 properties under community housing programs
• 2 properties through private sponsorship

Staffing

The Youth Housing Project currently is funded through the Qld State Government and through sponsorship funds for a full time Manager, two full time Housing Support Workers, a part time Housing Support Worker (30 hours), a part time Tenancy Management Worker (30 hours), a part time Administration/Assistant Tenancy Worker (10 hours) and a part time Accountant (12 hours).

YHP also has gained a volunteer who works in the office 1 day per week.

During this year one of the YHP sponsors ended their sponsorship for support and rental of a private property under this program. YHP still held one remaining sponsorship property.

YHP received approval to add an additional CAP Headlease property to their quota of properties bringing the total number of CAP Headlease properties to eight.  (The property that was previously sponsored was absorbed into the CAP headlease program to become the eighth property in this program).

At this time YHP had 8 CAP properties, 8 CAP Headlease properties, 7 CRS properties, 7 Same House Different Landlord properties and 1 sponsor property.  A total of a maximum of 31 properties when fully sourced.

YHP received funding to acquire an additional four CAP Headlease properties under a COVID-19 response. Funding was provided for the properties only, support provision for the young people housed in these properties was provided using surplus funds from across the various YHP Community Housing Programs.

YHP received approval to increase the Same House Different Landlord quota from seven to ten properties under this program.

Our final sponsor ended their arrangement of sponsorship for support and rental of a property at the end of June this year.  This was an end to an amazing partnership that lasted for four years.  Our wonderful sponsor decided to use their funds to sponsor a new program working with indigenous young people.

YHP received approval to increase the Community Rent Scheme Headlease property quota from seven to eight properties. (The property that was previously sponsored was absorbed into the CRS headlease program to become the eighth property in this program.)

At this time YHP had 8 CAP properties, 12 CAP Headlease properties, 8 CRS properties, 10 Same House Different Landlord properties.  A total of a maximum of 38 properties when fully sourced.

YHP received funding for a further 12 months for the continuation of the extra four CAP Headlease properties which were acquired under the COVID-19 response.

YHP were successful in applying to be a provider for the new Help to Home Program which sees the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy renting properties directly from owners long term and then head leasing these properties to community housing providers.  Currently these properties are just starting to roll out across QLD. The number of properties that YHP has been approved to manage and support under this program is thirty properties.

Currently YHP has 8 properties under CAP, 12 properties under CAP Headlease, 8 properties under the Community Rent Scheme, 10 properties under the Same House Different Landlord Program and 30 properties under Help to Home Program.

A total of a maximum of 68 properties, when fully sourced.

In September 2022, YHP received additional Immediate Housing Response for Families funding (until 30 June 2023) to provide:

• Emergency brokerage funding – primarily to support YHP in purchasing temporary accommodation (e.g. in hotels and motels) for families experiencing homelessness, and also to assist families already in crisis accommodation transition to longer term accommodation.
• Wages funding – to employ additional support staff to assist families who are experiencing/at risk of homelessness or already in temporary/crisis accommodation in transitioning to stable, longer-term housing.

Staffing

At this time, the Youth Housing Project is funded through the QLD State Government and has a Manager, Assistant Manager/Senior Support Practitioner, 2 Support Practitioners (one part time), Tenancy and Property Manager, Assistant Tenancy and Property Manager (part-time) and Accountant.

YHP also regularly takes students on placement from the various universities represented in Brisbane and surrounding areas.  Once the 30 Help to Home Program properties are sourced, a further tenancy and property management position will become available.

The funding for the Immediate Housing Response for Families came to an end and so YHP were no longer able to provide support using brokerage funds and the additional support position that accompanied this program ended.

The Help to Home Program also ended and so YHP currently has a total of 37 properties when fully sourced. This includes the 8 properties under Crisis Accommodation Program (CAP), 11 Private rental properties under CAP Headlease, and under YHP’s Community Housing program 8 Private rental properties under the Community Rent Scheme (CRS) and 10 Same House Different Landlord Program properties (SHDL).

Mid this year we received an additional 20% funding increase that was allocated by the Qld State Government to all Queensland Specialist Homelessness Services. This has allowed us to employ an Intake and Mobile Support Worker for 35 hours per week. Now that we have this additional worker at YHP the Support Practitioners can completely focus on providing support and assistance to the young people we currently have in our YHP housing programs whilst the Intake and Mobile Support Worker can focus on young people who want to access our service and need support whilst they wait for a housing opportunity to come available. This new position was developed with the aim that it provided an entry point into the Homelessness Sector for someone who has lived experience of homelessness and is currently studying or holds a Diploma level certification.

YHP were also once again approved to have an additional CAP Headlease property which brings us back to the 20 CAP properties, 8 CRS properties and 10 Same House Different Landlord properties when fully sourced.

The YHP Management Committee decided during this year to change position titles within the organisation to match our growth and so now have a CEO, Manager, Senior Support Practitioner, Support Practitioner, Intake and Mobile Support Worker, Tenancy Manager, Assistant Tenancy Manager and YHP Accountant.