Belmont Cottage

Belmont Cottage was established in Cloverdale around 1979 as part of Parkerville Children’s Home. Throughout this time, Belmont has provided medium to long term accommodation and development programs for children and young people aged 12 to 17 years. It remained open in 2014. Parkerville were running Belmont Youth Program, their out of home care program, until at least 2023.

Belmont Cottage was established as part of the Parkerville Children’s Home in the suburb of Cloverdale around 1979 to provide medium to long term residential care for teenagers in a homelike setting. At the time, the children selected for Belmont Cottage were known as ‘hard-to-serve’ youth. That is to say, they had a number of issues that they were dealing with, and needed some intensive assistance. By 1994, children and young people aged 12-17 years could be placed for up to one year at Belmont Cottage, which continued to offer development programs as well as accommodation. The programs delivered at Belmont Cottage were deemed to be suited to teenagers who were seen as vulnerable or at risk. Over the years, these programs have included names such as the ‘Barooga Program’, the ‘Belmont Program’, the ‘Belmont Youth Programme’, and the ‘Residential Youth Programme’.

Belmont Cottage was originally funded through the Commonwealth and State funded Supported Accommodation Assistance Programme (SAAP). From 2009, funding was provided through the National Affordable Housing Agreement (NAHA).