Be part of the youth homelessness solution

Youth homelessness does not just mean someone sleeping rough on the streets. Today, on Youth Homelessness Matters Day, Narelle Clay urges Australians to consider how they can help young people in their community.

Youth Homelessness Matters Day 2012 is on 18 April – it is a timely reminder that 50% of people supported by homelessness services and 45% of people experiencing homelessness on any given night in Australia are aged under 25.

This year Homelessness Australia is urging everyone to be part of the solution. Research has identified that if young people are not properly supported when they first experience homelessness, they have a higher chance of becoming homeless in their adult lives. Around 40% of people homeless as adults were first homeless as young people. Most young people enter homelessness by couch surfing, staying temporarily with friends or relatives.

A large proportion of young people who are experiencing homelessness on Census night could be described as “hidden homeless”. Many young people enter homelessness but are initially hidden, moving between extended family and friends or other less than safe or appropriate placements. For this group, it is vital that there is sustained investment in early
intervention programs to prevent their homelessness becoming entrenched. This includes supported accommodation and flexible supported housing options.

There are a diverse range of services in Australia which effectively respond and support young homeless people and their families. They support young people to return to the family home where safe and appropriate or to transition out of homelessness into independent living and end their homelessness permanently.

There are different causes of homelessness among young people, and importantly there are a diverse range of services that are all part of the solution. It is vital however that mainstream, both Govertment and non Government Services, and other specialist services do more to respond to youth homelessness including increased access, provision of after hours and crisis support, flexible treatment options and others. We need to address the structural causes as well as the consequences.

There are practical steps that Government can take to reduce the likelihood of young people becoming homeless in the first place and to lift them out of poverty such as raising inadequate income support payments.

Young people cannot support themselves on income support payments of just $29 a day. For young people unable to live at home this is expected to cover rent, utilities, food, transport and clothes. It is unrealistic and we need Governments to be brave enough to commit to increasing youth allowance rates by $50 a week to ensure the risk of young people becoming homeless as a result of woefully inadequate Government payments is reduced.

The costs of youth homelessness, both socially and economically are significant. Youth Homelessness Matters Day provides us with a vital opportunity to increase community awareness and understanding of the significant problem of youth homelessness in Australia. This year, Homelessness Australia is urging everyone to be part of the solution.

Narelle Clay is currently the National Chairperson of Homelessness Australia, a Member of the NSW Homelessness Alliance and a Member of the Southern region's Area Managers Group. Ms Clay was a Commissioner for the National Youth Commission and served on the Independent National Inquiry Into Youth Homelessness in 2007 and 2008.