The Youth Housing and Reintegration Service (YHARS) is a new initiative under the Queensland Government's Implementation Plan for the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness. YHARS assists young people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless by providing support and access to a range of accommodation options.
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Who will benefit from YHARS?
YHARS assists young people aged 12 to 20 years who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness and who:
- have exited from care after being subject to a child protection order (who are 18 to 20 years old), or
- are transitioning from the care of the state, or
- are transitioning to the community following a period of sentence or remand in a Youth Detention Centre, and/or
- have been 'sleeping rough' or living in unstable, temporary or inadequate housing arrangements.
How does YHARS work?
Support
YHARS helps reconnect young people to their family and carers, assists them to become more independent and provides sustainable mainstream support and accommodation services. Support services include:
- Family and community living support - improving social relationships, developing independent living skills, accessing appropriate services.
- Tenancy support - facilitating access to housing options and assisting young people to maintain their tenancies.
- Learning and employment support - linking young people with employment, training and education services.
Brokerage
Brokerage funds can be used to assist young people to access education, training, employment and specialist services, and to purchase goods and services to establish and support tenancies. Brokerage funds are available to eligible young people through two initiatives within the Implementation Plan - YHARS and the After Care Service.
1. YHARS brokerage
YHARS brokerage is available to young people who are transitioning from care or youth detention, are 'sleeping rough' or living in unstable, temporary or inadequate housing arrangements. YHARS brokerage funds are only available to young people who are being supported by YHARS.
2. After Care Service brokerage
The After Care Service brokerage funds are specifically for young people who have recently exited from care after being subject to a Child Protection Order (who are 18 to 20 years) and are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
After Care brokerage funds can be accessed through the YHARS providers but is not limited to the YHARS service locations and is available state wide to eligible young people who have exited from care and are aged between 18 and 20 years.
Accommodation
YHARS has access to a range of accommodation options within each of the service locations, for young people with low, moderate and high support needs. To be eligible to access YHARS accomodation, young people must meet all of the following criteria.
- aged between 15 to 20 years
- assessed as suitable and capable of semi-independent living
- eligible for or in receipt of an independent income
- eligible for social housing assistance
- in the process of applying for or have an approved application on the Housing Register with the Department of Communities.
Young people may move from one type of accommodation to another as their needs change and all young people in YHARS accommodation will move to more sustainable housing arrangements. These housing options include:
- youth studios (to be provided by Kids Under Cover)
- transition to independent living units
- supervised community accommodation (Townsville only)
Where and when will YHARS be established?
The following service providers have been funded to provide the Youth Housing and Reintegration Service and administer the After Care Service.
Toowoomba: Australian Red Cross Society
371 Taylor Street, Toowoomba.
Phone: 4614 1600.
Townsville: Queensland Youth Services
641 Ross River Road, Kirwan.
Phone: 4723 4213.
Rockhampton: Capricornia Training Company
38 Armstrong Street, Rockhampton.
Phone: 4922 2008 or 1800 616 289.
Mount Isa: Young People Ahead
(contact Townsville for the After Care Service)
11-13 Fourth Avenue, Mount Isa.
Phone: 4743 1000 or 0408 751 799.
Inala: Inala Keys
16 Lilac Street Inala (next to the Blue Fin Fishing Club).
Phone: 3372 3410.
Hervey Bay/Maryborough: Australian Red Cross Society
98 Bazaar Street, Maryborough.
Phone: 4123 4697.
More information
For more information about the YHARS and After Care Service, please call the Office for Youth on 1300 555 954.
You can also download the following materials.
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