Young people who have become disengaged from school and are living with mental health conditions will receive additional care and support to complete their schooling, under a flagship new program being rolled out by the Victorian Government and Melbourne City Mission.

Minister for Youth Ros Spence today launched the Living Learning program, announcing that referrals into the program are now open for Term 1 of next year.

The Living Learning program provides education and support for young people aged 15 to 21 who are disengaged from employment, education and training and who have a mental health condition.

The program will provide three years of education and wraparound mental health support to 144 Victorian young people with complex needs.

The program is supported by the Victorian Government as part of its ground-breaking Partnerships Addressing Disadvantage (PADs). PADs bring together the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors to address deep-seated disadvantage through a social impact investment model.

This model enables the philanthropic sector to join forces with Melbourne City Mission and the Government to support young people.

As well as the personal benefit to participants, the program is also expected to deliver significant benefits to the community through reduced use of health and other government services.

The Victorian Government has committed up to $15 million for this PAD with the final level of investment to be based on the results achieved.

Melbourne City Mission will deliver the Living Learning program at its Hester Hornbrook Academy campuses as an extension of its existing educational services.