A first of its kind, culturally safe supported housing for First Nations young people leaving out of home care, the second Village 21 site, Moorumbina Mongurnallin was officially opened in Frankston this week.

The milestone was marked with a smoking ceremony delivered by Bunurong Elder Uncle Mark Brown.

Harriet Shing, Victorian Minister for Housing, launched Moorumbina Mongurnallin and participated in the ribbon cutting alongside representatives from Kids Under Cover and the Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency who have partnered to deliver the project.

“In the coming weeks, six young people will be the first to make this beautiful space their home as they negotiate the path from out-of-home care to independent living,” Kids Under Cover CEO Stephen Nash says.

“They’ll be offered support and guidance along the way to make sure they’re afforded every opportunity to shape their own bright future. We can’t wait to follow the progress of the young occupants of MoorumbinaMongurnallin and those who will follow them in the years ahead.”

The Village 21 model provides supported housing for young people leaving out of home care. The six occupants receive wrap around support from an on-site mentor as well as access to programs to strengthen connection to culture and build independent living skills.

NH Architecture designed the first, pilot project in Preston for Kids Under Cover in 2021. The pilot has been enormously successful, with an independent assessment showing two thirds of the young people living there have found employment, a third have transitioned to independent living and all have shown significant increases in self-confidence and social independence.

This second Village 21 project in Frankston has been specifically designed to be culturally safe for First Nations young people. NH Architecture worked alongside Kids Under Cover, VACCA and local Elders and young First Nations people to ensure cultural perspectives, insights and protocols were embedded in the design. The name Moorumbina Mongurnallin means ‘You are Loved’ in Bunurong language.

Moorumbina Mongurnallin’s design is all about community. The modular studios are arranged to resemble a ‘village’ to foster community, making use of the in between spaces to create opportunities for socialisation and interaction with the public realm whilst providing the dignity of a regular house in the suburbs.

Communal indoor and outdoor areas sit alongside the studios and onsite mentors support the young people to build their capacity and gain living skills. At Moorumbina Mongurnallin these areas house a kitchen, laundry and lounge, with a basketball court, yarning circle and firepit outside surrounded by native planting.

Cost effective, off-the-shelf materials were used with timber stoops and projected window frame details giving each studio an ‘address’ and the residents a greater sense of home. These elements add warmth and human scale, outlining the thresholds between the public and private spaces. Key sustainable features include rooftop solar panels, water sensitive design, rainwater harvesting, and vegetable gardens.

NH Architecture partnered with floor covering supplier Milliken Ontera to run a competition, facilitated by VACCA to deliver a bespoke carpet for the village interiors. This was an opportunity for a local artist in the First Nations community to collaborate with Milliken Ontera to produce a carpet design for the village with the ambition that this outcome will then be developed into a commercial range.

“Congratulations to the whole team who helped deliver this special and much needed project,” NH Architecture Director Nick Bourns says.

“We are proud to have supported Kids Under Cover once more for this second village, MoorumbinaMongurnallin. We’re looking forward to the village providing much needed homes for those who need it most.”

Image: A smoking ceremony delivered by Bunurong Elder Uncle Mark Brown/supplied.