Giving young people the chance to thrive: Lighthouse Foundation’s approach to ending youth homelessness

For many of us, the festive season means warmth, celebration, and the comfort of being surrounded by people we love. But for too many young people across Victoria, this time of year highlights something very different: instability, fear, and the harsh reality of not knowing where they will sleep at night.

More than 7600 young people aged 12 to 24 are experiencing homelessness right now in Victoria. Nationally, recent research shows one in 10 young people have been without a safe place to stay in the past year, and more than 38,000 have turned to homelessness services for help. These young people are navigating family breakdown, mental health challenges, violence, and a severe shortage of affordable housing. Pressures no young person should face alone.

For more than 34 years, Lighthouse Foundation has been working to change that. Lighthouse provides babies, children and young people who have experienced homelessness and/or trauma with a safe place and the therapeutic relationships they need to heal and thrive.

The Lighthouse model of care is trauma-informed and relationship-based, ensuring every young person is surrounded by a care team and clinicians who genuinely care and remain a steady presence in their lives.

Jacinta is one of the young people whose lives have been transformed by that support. At just 16, her world shifted dramatically when her grandfather, who had been her primary caregiver, became too unwell to care for her. With nowhere safe to go, she entered emergency accommodation, spending every night wondering where she might be sent next.

When you don’t know what tomorrow looks like, it’s terrifying, Jacinta said.

Everything shifted when she was welcomed into Lighthouse’s transitional program. In a warm, stable home, and guided by Lighthouse’s therapeutic care team, she learned practical skills, rebuilt her confidence, and slowly began to feel safe again.

The turning point came through On For Life, Lighthouse’s unique lifelong support program that ensures young people are never left alone once they leave care. They can return for help, advice, connection, or simply someone to talk to – for as long as they need.

Today, Jacinta is living independently, studying to become a paramedic, and has reunited with her beloved dog, Charlotte. Her home is now a place of safety and hope, something she once believed she would never have.

Partnerships help to make this life-changing work possible. Lighthouse Foundation is grateful for the ongoing support of MICM, whose fundraising efforts help ensure young people like Jacinta can access the safe homes, therapeutic care, and lifelong support they deserve.

This festive season, Lighthouse is asking the community to help make more stories like Jacinta’s possible. A donation will help provide ongoing care, safe homes, and the lifelong support that prevents young people from returning to homelessness.

To support Lighthouse Foundation’s Festive Appeal, visit lighthousefoundation.org.au and help a young person find safety, stability, and the chance to thrive. •