Welfare

Our young people are our future and, at Melbourne Legacy, we have designated Case Managers ready to guide our youth on their path to self-reliance.

This is achieved through programs, referrals, educational grants, financial assistance and the use of a holistic case management model supported by professional welfare workers.

Trent’s Story:

Quietly working to meet the increasingly diverse issues facing the families of lost or incapacitated service parent’s, Legacy’s work has necessarily evolved to encompass a wide range of support mechanisms.

Returning from recent and current deployments, service men and women often struggle with the challenge of transitioning back to civilian life, complicating family dynamics along the way.

Trent’s story highlights the complex circumstances and accompanying requirements many young people are left to deal with.  Son of a father who was a member of the Royal Australian Air Force, Trent’s life was turned upside down at age fourteen following the sudden death of his mother.

His relationship with his father, already fraught, irrevocably broke down in early 2018, when Trent, at age eighteen, was told to leave home and never return.  With no money and only a small suitcase to his name, Trent was forced to couch surf, bouncing between his sister, various friends, a grandparent in Tasmania and another in New Zealand.

Occasionally he was forced to sleep rough or find a refuge.

“It was during this time that both my grandparents passed on the same night – I was heartbroken.”

Trent enrolled with Melbourne Legacy in the September of 2018, where, after securing accommodation at a not-for-profit youth homelessness organisation, he was able to purchase furniture, clothing and items for study with their assistance.

“For the first time that year, I had safe and stable accommodation. At first, getting back on my feet and creating new friendships was extremely difficult. Because of my life experience, relating to others my age wasn’t easy.”

With the backing of Legatee Suzanne Shaw, Melbourne Legacy was able to provide the financial support Trent required for basic quality of life materials such as a bed and linen, along with the tools he needed to resume studying.

Further to the fundamentals of living, Melbourne Legacy offers young people aged ten to nineteen, the opportunity to escape the everyday with camping trips and fun activities throughout the year.

With a mission to support, educate and connect young people battling through circumstances of death or family breakdown, Legacy continues its tireless work of alleviating stress by delivering care and relief.

If you are in need of support or have a general enquiry please refer to the information box below or call our friendly team directly on  (O3) 8626 0500

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