Housing and Homelessness

To find suitable, area specific support for a client, during business hours call 1800 825 955 to talk to an Initial Assessment and Planning staff member about your client’s situation. This call is free from landlines and from most mobile phones. When you call this number you will be connected to the nearest Homelessness Entry Point Service. Clients can also call this number directly themselves.

After hours contact the St Kilda Crisis Centre on 1800 627 727

Other resources

Southern Homelessness Services Network – The SHSN comprises all funded Specialist Homelessness Services in the Southern Region including services providing crisis, transitional, family violence and youth support and accommodation.  The SHSN is a resource for the homelessness sector in the South.

Council to Homeless Persons – For information and resources about homelessness in Victoria, including training and research, refer to Victoria’s peak body on homelessness

If you need advice or support for your client, including children and young people, you can refer clients and/or access secondary consultations through the following services:

• During business hours call 1800 825 955 to talk to an Initial Assessment and Planning staff member about your client’s situation. After hours call the St Kilda Crisis Centre on 1800 627 727
• Launch Housing – Offers emergency shelter, crisis accommodation, specialist supports, and rough sleeping services. Offices in the Bayside Peninsula are St Kilda (122 Chapel St, St Kilda) and Cheltenham (phone contact only)
• Salvation Army – The Salvation Army provides a range of homelessness support.  They can also be contacted at their Frankston office on 03 9784 5000 (37 Ross Smith Avenue East, Frankston, Vic, 3199) Monday to Friday 8:30am-5:30pm, or their Rosebud office at 17-19 Ninth Avenue, Rosebud
• The Private Rental Assistance Program (PRAP) – Provides people at risk of, or experiencing homelessness with financial and practical assistance to establish and maintain private rental tenancies.

If you are a housing worker and a client discloses that they are experiencing family violence (FV) or you believe FV is an issue, you need to be able to respond appropriately – visit our Understanding Family Violence page to learn about:

• what FV is
• how to identify FV
• how to respond within Victoria’s MARAM Framework
• understanding information sharing legislation

Any housing service in the Bayside Peninsula will be able to respond to housing and crisis accommodation needs of all age groups. For specialised services, you may also consider:

Children & Young People

• Frontyard Youth Services Melbourne City Mission specialist youth service located in Melbourne’s CBD, servicing clients across Victoria
• Statewide Children’s Resource Program Funded by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing to assist, support, and resource homelessness and other non government services to respond more effectively to the needs of children who have experienced homelessness and/or family violence

Older people

• HAAG Home at Last aims to ensure older people have access to secure, affordable and appropriate housing that can be enjoyed for the rest of a person’s life.

To access training on homelessness and housing, go to:

Council to Homeless Persons SHS Learning Hub

• Visit the website of Australia’s peak body for homelessness, Homelessness Australia
• HousingVic Information for current public housing renters, potential social housing renters and anyone wanting to know about housing in Victoria
• The Royal Women’s Hospital’s Cornelia Program provides pregnant women (or women who gave birth within the last 6 weeks) who are experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity accommodation (for up to 12 months) and access to maternal health services.
• Consumer Affairs Victoria Information about rights and responsibilities for tenants and landlords, how to resolve disputes and where to find help. Including rooming houses and private rental
• Homelessness Advocacy Service If a client has a problem with a homelessness assistance or social housing service, a support service or a rooming house, they can contact the Council to Homeless Persons’ Homelessness Advocacy Service for advice and assistance.
• Justice Connect Advocacy, legal assistance, advice, policy and law reform.
• Tenancy Plus Support Program Assistance to remain in Social Housing. Aims to prevent homelessness and support tenants to stay in housing.
• Tenant’s Victoria Advice, assistance and advocacy for tenants in private and public residential properties.
• Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission Information, advice and dispute resolution related to discrimination.
• To register for social housing go to the Victorian Housing Register
• Some of the Bayside Peninsula councils have housing services – refer to our page on local councils
• Good Shepherd’s No Interest Loans This year the No Interest Loans (NILs) program has been updated to include rent and bond up to $3000, pre-approval, less documentation requirements and greater flexibility.
• Could the ‘Advance to Zero’ approach help end homelessness in Australia?