- St John of God Horizon House
- Young Mother and Baby Program
Stability and support to help you transition into life as a new mum and move forward
A home, care and support for new and expecting mums aged 16-22 in Perth and Bendigo who don’t have a safe, stable place to live.
Whatever has put you at risk of homelessness, at Horizon House we’re here for you, with a safe place to stay, take care of yourself during your pregnancy, and adjust to being a parent once your baby arrives
Our Young Mother and Baby Program doesn’t just help you to make the transition to life with a little one, it gives you the opportunity to think about what you want your future to look like and get the support you need to make it happen.
More than a roof over your head, our team will work with you to understand who you are, what you want to do and where you want to be. Then, together, we’ll develop the skills and access the support you need to look after yourself and move on.
Frequently asked questions and answers
At our Young Mother and Baby Program houses in Perth and Bendigo, there is a team of youth workers who work on a 24 hour roster, seven days a week so there is always someone at the house to provide support when you need it.
During your pregnancy we’ll help you to keep track of and get to and from all your pre-natal appointments.
Once your baby arrives, we’re there to support you emotionally as you adjust to the demands, challenges and joys of life with a baby and to help you learn how to take care of your little one and set healthy routines for them and yourself.
Importantly, we will help you identify your education/training, employment and other goals, work towards them develop skills to help you live independently in future.
Yes, you will have your own private bedroom for you and your baby to share. It comes furnished, including a single bed for you and a bassinet/cot for your baby. Bed linen and towels are also provided. The bedrooms have a privacy lock that cannot be accessed by other young people.
Bathrooms, kitchen and living areas are all communal spaces that you share with up to three other young mums.
You can visit our locations page to take a virtual tour of our Young Mother and Baby Program houses in Perth and Bendigo.
Our Young Mother and Baby Program houses are set up for life with a baby. You will have a bassinet or cot for your baby in your room and there are high chairs, baby baths, bottle sterilisers, swings, toys and other essentials available for you and the other mums to use in the house’s communal areas.
The rent/board at Horizon House Young Mother and Baby Program is $115 per week. This includes household bills like electricity and internet, as well as groceries for main meals.
If you don’t have any money coming in at the moment, don’t worry. Our team of caregivers can help you access any Centrelink payments that you may be entitled to.
Visitors are allowed at all Horizon Houses. To maintain the health and safety of everyone they need to be discussed with staff first. Please note visitors are not able to stay overnight.
The expectations are pretty simple. Respect everyone and do your bit.
To get the most out of the program you are expected to engage with workers and your case management, and help out with cooking and cleaning – if you’re unsure of how to cook and/or clean, our caregivers will be there to help you learn and develop your confidence in these areas.
The vast majority of people in our Young Mother and Baby Program will stay living at Horizon House until their baby turns one. From there, we will support you to access transitional or permanent accommodation – we start working on this with you well in advance so you will have plenty of time to prepare and feel confident taking the next step.
Unfortunately, we aren’t set up to provide accommodation for older siblings.
We are not set up to provide accommodation for partners but please speak to your Support Coordinator about arrangements for your partner to visit regularly.
Most rules centre around the health and safety of everyone at the house. For example, no smoking, vaping, drugs or alcohol is allowed on the premises. Overnight or unapproved visitors are also not allowed.
There is a curfew, and you are expected to communicate with staff if you are staying out.
The Support Coordinator at your house will discuss specific guidelines with you during your referral process.
Your room will be furnished with a bed (including pillows and linen), a wardrobe and drawers etc. along with a bassinet or cot for your baby.
If you wish to bring other large items with you please discuss this with staff once your referral has been accepted – their ability to accommodate this will depend on the space available.
Feel free to bring photos, decorations and personal items – whatever makes it feel more like home! Except pets, unfortunately we can’t accommodate those.
If you think Horizon House Young Mother and Baby Program is right for you, visit the ‘apply’ page on this site and fill in a referral form.
If you have an organisation or worker that you are currently being supported by, you can ask them to download the form and fill it out with you.
Completed forms should be sent to [email protected]. From there, one of our staff members will contact you for more information.
Once we receive your referral, we’ll have a staff member from the appropriate house get in touch to talk about whether the program is a good fit for you, get the details for your references and let you know whether there are any places currently available.
Once all that is sorted, we’ll be in touch again to explain more about the service, the process for moving in and starting the program and to organise a time to meet up face to face.
If at any time you, your referrer or our staff feel like Horizon House can’t meet your needs, we will try our best to connect you with other service providers who may be able to support you.
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