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Mission Australia has called for Government bodies to increase funding to homelessness services and affordable housing initiatives for young people after The Unfair Divide youth homelessness report found that one in 10 respondents, aged 15-19 years, in the Youth Survey 2023, experienced homelessness in the past year.
Ben Carblis, Executive for Community Services, stated that recent funding from Federal and NSW governments for homelessness services has been welcome, but more needs to be done.
“With youth homelessness remaining persistently high, we call on governments to double down on their efforts and continue working with the sector to invest in effective solutions,” said Carblis.
The report exposed the harsh reality that young people impacted by homelessness must face. Mental health struggles, financial hardship, loneliness, lack of sense of belonging, and strained or poor family relationships were all elevated for those who were impacted by homelessness.
Rise In Demand For Services
Around 45% of NSW young people who had recently been unhoused said they had a mental health condition, with 50% reporting to be lonely all or most of the time. 46% of these young people found finding it difficult to socialise and fit in and were five times more likely to have strained family relationships.
Carblis voiced his concern for the report’s findings and reiterated the need for early intervention programs to be implanted for young people.
“We know the impacts of homelessness on young people can be traumatic and long-lasting — not having a stable and secure home can deny them the ability to plan for their futures and pursue education and employment opportunities.”
This call for action comes after similar appeals from not-for-profit organisations, like Wayside Chapel, who have been inundated by demand for their services.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), their annual report on Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) found that between 2022 and 2023, 274,000 clients were supported by SHS across Australia. One in six of these clients were children under the age of 10 and 1 in 10 were children and youth aged 10–17.
Dedicated Social Housing
To counter these Mission Australia has recommended governments establish a $500 million Homelessness Prevention Transformation Fund, to deliver targeted prevention programs and policy reforms for young people with heightened or immediate risk of homelessness.
They have also recommended the development and maintenance of a national pool of at least 15,000 dedicated social housing youth tenancies, with ten 40-unit Youth Foyers over the next three years.
Increasing income support and improving rental subsidies for Jobseeker, Youth Allowance, and Commonwealth Rent Assistance is also essential in combating youth homelessness.
Expanding early homelessness risk programs at schools along with further crisis support and accommodation responses for young people are also key to supporting young people. “Ending youth homelessness is possible,” Carblis stated.
“Mission Australia is focused on ending homelessness and we are committed to working across the sector and with all levels of government to ensure that every young person has a safe, secure place to call home and the support they need to thrive.”
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