Bungalows have kids covered

Kids Under Cover (KUC) provides demountable bungalows to house at risk or homeless young people.

These one and two bedroom buildings—some with bathrooms—are placed in the back yards of foster carer or family homes.

KUC works with community service organisations and the Department of Human Services to target where the bungalows are most needed.

‘We are providing space to young people not living at home and who are in foster care for a variety of reasons,’ KUC executive director Petrina Dorrington said.

‘We are also providing bungalows where young people are at risk of leaving home–we want to help families before they break down.

‘Many carers or families have limited space in their homes and the bungalows provide the extra space required.

‘The bungalows give young people space, independence and privacy.’

The organisation, partly funded by the Department, also provides three to five bedroom houses.

These buildings are located on State Government land and are supervised by adult volunteers, who care and support a small group of young people.

Currently Kids Under Cover, founded 11 years ago, has 59 bungalows and 11 houses across Victoria.

Ms Dorrington said the bungalow program had been very successful.

‘Space is very important to teenagers…and this program is meeting that need,’ she said.

‘For foster carers, it means that the young person does not have to share a bedroom with another child or have to sleep on the couch in the lounge-room if there is not enough room.

‘For families, if means young people stay at home instead of moving into shared accommodation or a foster family.’

• For further information on Kids Under Cover call 9663 2931, email kuc@kuc.org.au or visit www.kuc.org.au.

Sam’s story

Although Sam’s mother and her partner have a three-bedroom family house it was home to three other children.

Sam was sleeping in the lounge-room and storing his possessions in the garage.

When Sam began his VCE the family decided he needed better accommodation to study effectively.

Sam moved in with his father and his partner and enrolled in school close by.

Sam and his father’s partner did not get on.

As the situation deteriorated Sam rarely attended school and was not communicating with his father.

He was eventually asked to leave his father’s house.

He moved back to his mother’s and began to commute several hours a day to and from school.

This was impractical so Sam enrolled in a new school but continued to feel confused and unsettled over his lack of secure accommodation and privacy.

Sam came into contact with a youth service and a KUC bungalow was installed in the back yard of his mother’s house.

Sam’s youth worker is convinced the bungalow has allowed him to concentrate on his studies and prevent him from being highly vulnerable to homelessness, drug use and other illicit activity.

Shania’s story

Shania, 15, lives in a Kids Under Cover bungalow in Steve and Carol’s back yard.

Steve and Carol are community service organisation Adolescent Community Placement (ACP) care givers.

They have been caring for Shania since the start of last year.

Before moving into their care Shania was living with her family.

Her stepbrother had made inappropriate sexual advances towards her.

He was aggressive and sometimes physically assaulted her.

Shania’s mother blamed her for her stepbrother’s behaviour.

Shania felt isolated, emotionally rejected by her mother and chronically depressed.

Shania needed to live in a caring household environment that would help her stay at her local school and, if appropriate, maintain contact with her family in the longer term.

Steve and Carol’s three-bedroom home was not big enough for Shania as well as their own family.

The KUC bungalow allowed Shania to take part in Steve and Carol’s family life as well as have some privacy and independence of her own.