The Property Industry Foundation’s Clayton House, a safe haven built by Frasers Property Group for the Lighthouse Foundation opened on 1 March 2022.
It is home to four disadvantaged young people and two live-in carers from the Lighthouse Foundation.
This house in Clayton is a purpose-built home for the Lighthouse Foundation, made possible by the generous contribution of companies across the property and construction industry who have donated time and materials to the project pro-bono. This includes Frasers Property Australia, which has led the build over the past two and a half years.
The four young people in Clayton House are part of the Lighthouse Foundation’s parent and baby cohort, which typically includes very young mums who have had their first (or in some cases second or third) child and are at significant risk of homelessness.
“Youth homelessness is not a young people’s issue, it’s a community issue,”
“As the creator of new communities, it is important that we play our role in addressing this problem. Frasers Property is proud to be involved in this meaningful project and we are excited to welcome the new residents into Clayton House, a project two and a half years in the making.
“We will continue to work with the Property Industry Foundation to make a positive difference in communities around Australia,””
Sarah Bloom, General Manager Development Victoria at Frasers Property Australia.
Susan Barton AM, Founder and Executive Director at the Lighthouse Foundation, says Clayton House will provide a safe and welcoming environment for residents.
“We are so deeply grateful for our partnership with the Property Industry Foundation. Many of our kids come from residential care environments that are quite cold, where there are no pictures on the walls,”
“The Property Industry Foundation understands these aren’t just houses, they are homes. They work to ensure these spaces are beautifully decorated and treasured, which makes a huge difference to our kids feeling safe, secure, and free to have those normal childhood experiences again.”
Susan Barton AM, Founder and Executive Director at the Lighthouse Foundation
Residents will be cared for under the Lighthouse Model of Care, which integrates trauma-informed practice, attachment theory, and contemporary psychoanalytic theory to create a holistic therapeutic treatment environment in which the mental and physical wellbeing of these young people are developed and enriched.
Dr Eamonn McCarthy, CEO of the Lighthouse Foundation and one of Victoria’s most respected forensic psychologists in the field of childhood trauma, attachment, and high-risk youth, elaborates:
“The Lighthouse Model of Care avoids the notion of a one-size-fits-all approach. It's about looking at the individual child and making sure you're adapting your way of caring for them, helping these children to not only survive, but thrive.”
Dr Eamonn McCarthy, CEO of the Lighthouse Foundation
Dr McCarthy explains that the optimal development of wellness requires an integrated set of operations, which involves not only individuals and families in a community context, but also macro-level societal structures.
“That's where the Property Industry Foundation and the collective strength of the property industry come in, by providing these tangible, welcoming environments. By working together, we truly believe we can change the face of homelessness and eradicate it for good, one child at a time.”
Dr Eamonn McCarthy, CEO of the Lighthouse Foundation
Dylan, a former resident of the Lighthouse program, says he found a real home through the Lighthouse Foundation.
“I had my own room, my own things and people who cared about me. Every morning I knew that my Carer and I could have breakfast together, and after a while, I actually wanted to come home for family dinners,”
“The best part was that I knew I wasn’t leaving any time soon. I could start thinking about my future. I made good friends in the Lighthouse community and my Carers helped me to start making positive choices.”
Dylan, a former resident
The Lighthouse Foundation works with young people to achieve stability and independence in their own lives, by helping them to enter educational programs, transition to stable housing and put them on the path to finding a rewarding career.
“These kids, they need love, they need genuine care that's not from a system or someone who's necessarily just paid to be there. They need and deserve people who are genuinely invested in helping them to transform their lives.”
“Together, with the strength of our deeply held relationship with the Property Industry Foundation, we've been able to make a real difference in the lives of young homeless people. At Lighthouse, our alumni total more than 1300 young people who have been through the program and transitioned out of Lighthouse to the point where they will likely never come back into a homeless program again.”
“But despite this, the goal is not for us to be the last stop. Even once they've physically left that home, they have a lifetime membership to Lighthouse. They are always welcome home.”
Susan Barton AM, Founder and Executive Director at the Lighthouse Foundation
Workerbee teams get Clayton ready
In the lead up to the opening of Clayton House, teams from all over the industry rolled up their sleeves and help put together furniture for the bedrooms and living areas of this soon to be home for homeless youth in need.
Clayton Workerbee Warriors
- Stantec
- Payce Security Group
- Diadem
- Qualitas
- ISPT
- URBIS
- Pitcher Partners
- MPA
- ANZ
This Haven Project adds another 6 rooms for homeless young people in Victoria and further proves our industry rolling up its sleeves and coming together makes an impact. Great teamwork and a wonderful furniture moving assist from Egans. These transformed rooms and living spaces will be something special for the deserving young people that call this house home.
