about us > Make Room, Melbourne

Make Room: Supported short-term accommodation for those who need it most

Unison is working with the City of Melbourne to provide safe and supported accommodation for people sleeping rough in the city.

About Make Room

The Make Room project is a unique partnership between City of Melbourne, Unison Housing, the Victorian Government and key philanthropic organisations to address the critical needs of people experiencing primary homelessness (rough sleeping) in the City of Melbourne.

The Make Room project will provide short-term supported accommodation for people for up to 12 months with the requisite wraparound supports to prepare and transition people into longer term sustainable housing.

The $20 million project focuses on the repurposing of a Council-owned building located at 602 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne, into specialist homelessness accommodation. This development will apply best practice architectural and service design principles and will deliver high-quality independent living units, residential communal spaces, specialist practitioner rooms and social enterprise opportunities.

While we are finalising the finer details of the project, the proposed development will see the building transformed into a six-storey apartment complex with up to 50 studio apartments. One ground floor tenancy is proposed to be completed as a warm shell for a social enterprise that will provide skills and training opportunities for residents and could engage with the general public. Other support tenancies may be included in areas of the building not suitable for residential accommodation.

This is an ambitious project that will help people break the cycle of homelessness and take the first crucial step to securing long-term housing.

The project is scheduled for completion in September 2024.

Funding

We would like to acknowledge the following funding supporters of the project:

What can you do to support?

We would welcome your support of Make Room – any contribution would make a difference.

Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation is a philanthropic partner for Make Room and is kindly supporting public fundraising by providing tax-deductible receipts for donations received over $2.

To make a donation please visit Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation – Make Room.

 

 

More info on the project:

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