Overview
The Young People’s Health Service (YPHS) is a free drop-in health service for people aged 12-24 years who are experiencing homelessness, financial difficulties, or marginalisation.
What is a visit to YPHS like?
At YPHS, you will be seen by nurse practitioners, nurses, or doctors in a clinic room. They will explain the visit and work through a registration form with you. A first visit to YPHS often includes an assessment to understand your health needs and what health actions might be helpful. This can take up to 60 minutes. You do not have to answer questions that you are not comfortable with.
If you prefer to communicate in a language other than English, we can call an interpreter during the consult.
What do YPHS Offer
YPHS provides primary health care, including:
YPHS is not a GP clinic or an emergency service. We are not able to complete Mental Health Care Plans, Centrelink Paperwork, NDIS assessments, or procedures requiring intravenous therapy i.e. iron infusions. We can help you find the service you need for these. We are limited to seeing clients up till their 25th birthday. People aged 25 years and over will be directed to other appropriate services.
How can you access YPHS?
YPHS is located at Frontyard Youth Services (19 King Street, Melbourne/Narrm) clinic hours: 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday (closed public holidays)
19 King St - Google Maps
Drop-in to Frontyard and ask the staff at the front desk about seeing the health team. Because YPHS is a drop-in service, there may be a wait to be seen.
If you can’t make it into the clinic, we can have a chat over the phone.
Clinic hours are 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday
- No appointment.
- No GP referral
- No charge
- No Medicare card
Drop in to Frontyard and ask for the health service.
Because it is a drop-in service, there may be a wait to be seen.
The Team
YPHS is run by a team of skilled and specialised nurses. Recognising Adolescent Health as a specialty area, the nurses are experienced and educated in this field.
- Dot Henning: Nurse Practitioner
- Charlie Bowes: Nurse Practitioner
- Belinda Tominc: Nurse Practitioner
- Jane Carroll: Clinical Nurse Consultant
- Di Zoch: Administration Officer
In addition to the nurse team, Advanced Paediatric Medical Trainees undergoing specialist Adolescent training at The RCH attends for twice a week to provide consultancy and medical support including diagnosis, prescription and specialist referrals (These doctors are not General Practitioners so not able to write Mental Health Care Plans. We also benefit from weekly observational visits from Junior Medical Officers rotating through the Department of Adolescent Medicine.
Our team are experienced in providing community-based health care for young people and aim to make an environment where you can talk to us about any health matters.
Contact Us
Telephone: 9453 8590 (you might have to leave a message)
Mobile 0438 155 526 - SMS or call
Email: young.people@rch.org.au
Address: Frontyard Youth Services, 19 King Street Melbourne/Naarm
Clinical Outreach Visits
YPHS visits some youth refuges in the Melbourne area to increase access to health care. If you are staying within youth refuges, you can speak to workers about whether YPHS visits.
Translated materials introducing YPHS
Health Resources
Below are some useful health resources and links to other services to aid you to support your health:
Sleep resource two pages - final (1).pdf
YPHS immunisation pt sheet cp 20250522 (1).pdf
RCH teen health info https://www.rch.org.au/teeninfo/
RCH kids health info https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/
Headspace Australia https://headspace.org.au/
Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (all ages) https://www.mshc.org.au/
Sexual Health Victoria https://shvic.org.au/
YoDAA https://yodaa.org.au/
Cohealth homelessness allied health service https://www.cohealth.org.au/service/homeless-allied-health/
VirtualY https://virtualy.ymca.org.au/
MCM Frontyard website https://www.mcm.org.au/services/homelessness/frontyard
Urgent Care Centres https://www.health.vic.gov.au/urgent-care-clinics
Medicare Mental Health Hubs https://www.medicarementalhealth.gov.au/
Pregnancy Birth and Baby Hotline https://www.pregnancybirthbaby.org.au/contact-us
Nurse-on-Call https://www.health.vic.gov.au/primary-care/nurse-on-call
YPHS Background and Publications
The Young People's Health Service (YPHS) aims to advance the health of adolescents and young adults (12-24 years) who are experiencing, or at risk of homelessness or marginalisation.
YPHS was established in 1991 following recommendations in the "Our Homeless Children" Report of the National Inquiry into Homeless Children by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commissioner Brian Burdekin (1989). The social model of health acts as the foundation of YPHS practice and acknowledges social determinants of health
Program Logic
Primary health care is designed to be the first level of contact that individuals have with the health care system in Australia. It incorporates health promotion, illness prevention and community development.
A Young People’s Health Service program logic model was developed to articulate the various components of the service and the intended outcomes.
Completed YPHS Projects
2024 – 2026 Diverse Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Grant
2019 – 2023 Catch-up vaccination program for young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness – Funded through the Victorian Government Department of Health. Through an outreach nurse model, YPHS checked the vaccine histories for 1,429 young people, finding that only 13.5% (194 people) were up to date with routine vaccines. We initiated vaccine catch-up for 1,075 young people and completed catch-up plans for 577, improving vaccine coverage from 13.5% to 54%.
Research and Professional Knowledge Sharing Activities
2026
Blasic, D., Tominc, B., Bogatyreva, K., and Munro, C. (2026) Periods of hardship: A global review of menstrual challenges among young women experiencing homelessness (pending publication)
2023
- Henning, D., Bowes, C., & Tominc, B. (2023). Health and Homelessness: Celebrating the Positives of an Integrated Service Model. Parity (10326170), 36(2), 35–36.
- Peter Mac and The University of Melbourne Nursing Seminar - Dot Henning - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZYTwb8Lzcc
- Tominc BL, Francis KL, Sawyer SM, Heerde JA, O’Neill J, Henning D. Immunisation Coverage in Young People Experiencing Homelessness and the Impact of a Nurse-led Program. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health. 2023;14. doi:10.1177/21501319231204581
2022
2021
- Henning D, Parrott C, Read T, Bradshaw CS.International Journal of STD and AIDS - Homelessness, sex and a tale of two sexually transmitted infections
2020
- Parrott, C. (2020) Young People's Health at the Frontline. Parity, 33(02), 25-26
- Tominc, B. (2020) Immunisations and Preventative Healthcare: Let's Improve Access for Our Community. Parity, 33(02), 25-26
2015
- Tominc, B., & Nicholson, L. (2022). Housing and health: Easing disruption with collaboration. Parity, 35(2), 32–33. (2015) A Check Up. In: Under the Pump! Melb: John Cain Foundation
2014
- Henning D. (2014) Homeless Youth. In: Sexual Health – A Multidisciplinary Approach. Melb: IP Communications
- Henning D, Eade D, Langstone A, Bean-Hodges A, Marceglia A, Azzopardi P. Asymptomatic Mycoplasma genitalium infection amongst marginalised young people accessing a youth health service in Melbourne. International Journal of STD & AIDS. 2014;25(4):299-302. doi:10.1177/0956462413502317
2013
2012
- Lim, M. S., Goller, J. L., Guy, R., Gold, J., Stoove, M., Hocking, J. S., Fairley, C. K., Henning, D., McNamee, K., Owen, L., Sheehan, P., & Hellard, M. E. (2012). Correlates of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in a primary care sentinel surveillance network. Sexual Health, 9(3), 247–253. https://doi.org/10.3316/informit.470770261043433
2008
2007
2006
Awards & Scholarships
Australian Association for Adolescent Health - Outstanding Contribution to Youth Health 2019 - Stuart Cook
RCH Mary Patten Award 2019 - Dot Henning
RCH Elizabeth Fearon Scholarship 2021 - Belinda Tominc
Providing Feedback
Feedback helps us improve our practice. Please use the link below to provide any feedback or email us at young.people@rch.org.au.
Feedback link (RCH process) https://www.rch.org.au/feedback/