My role is working with young people between the ages of 12 – 22 years who are experiencing homelessness. Homelessness is defined broadly as being without secure shelter and for the young people I work with, it can mean staying with friends, living in supported accommodation, emergency accommodation, squatting or living on the streets. Some of these young people have maintained links with their families', friends and communities however at the other end of the spectrum some of the young people are detached from those support networks.

I am employed by the Royal Children's Hospital in the Young People's Health Service (YPHS), a program administratively based at the Centre for Adolescent Health Service. My role includes working at the YPHS clinic, which operates as part of a collocation of services targeting the client group from an integrated service model called Frontyard Youth Services.

As well as being a nurse practitioner I coordinate YPHS. The service is a nurse-led one providing primary health care to those young people in Melbourne's CBD. Frontyard is located at 19 King Street in the city and operates a clinic from 12 midday to 5pm each weekday. In the clinic, young people are seen with a wide variety of issues, the most common ones relating to sexual health, drug and alcohol and mental health issues. Engagement, advocacy and assisted referral are important parts of the role.

The nurse practitioner role allows me to work at an advanced level of practice addressing the needs of the young people and assisting them to navigate their way through the health system. Many of these young people have complex health needs and report negative experiences when accessing the mainstream health services.

On a typical day at the clinic I might see a 17 year old young woman to discuss and screen for STI's (sexually transmitted infections), initiate a blood borne virus screen for a 20 year old male intravenous drug user and provide him with treatment for head lice, commence a Hepatitis B immunisation program for a 15 year old and provide emergency contraception for a 19 year old young woman. Many of these young people will be referred to other services at Frontyard to address their housing, legal, employment or Centrelink issues.

In addition to working at the clinic, I am involved in outreach services to refuges and street outreach programs and maintaining networks to support the group. I work as part of a dynamic team that includes youth health nurses, doctors and a counsellor. Undertaking educational activities to young people, other service providers, colleagues in the health team and community groups promotes YPHS, the health needs of the client group and the nurse practitioner role.