Youth homelessness is the silent threat to Sydney's future – here's how you can help
As one of the wealthiest cities in the world, recently ranking as the sixth most liveable city in the world (cost of living aside) and ranking seventh on the prestigious Global Cities Index, Sydney is often considered as one of the most privileged cities in the world. But there's a major issue facing our city, and the futures of a lot of young Sydneysiders are under threat. According to new research by YFoundations, 40 per cent of homeless people in Australia are under the age of 24.
The housing crisis is a problem that Sydneysiders of all ages have to confront, but the issue of youth homelessness is one that has huge ripple effects, and one that experts in the field believe could be "absolutely resolved". According to YFoundations, the peak body for youth homelessness in NSW, around 43,000 young Australians seek help from homelessness service providers every year, and many of those are right here in Sydney. We spoke with YFoundations CEO John MacMillan, who said that the 43,000 figure is only scratching the surface, with the majority of youth homelessness going unrecorded. 'Youth homelessness is a substantial issue, but no one knows the true extent because it's a very difficult thing to measure. We rely primarily on data from the Commonwealth and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and we know that last financial year there were about 43,000 unaccompanied children and young people that presented to specialist homelessness services seeking assistance. But the reality is, the predominant form of homelessness isn't recorded, young people are couch surfing without a permanent home and not seeking assistance.'When explaining the extent of the issue, John said that even the Australian Bureau of Statistics doesn't even know how to measure the amount of couch surfing that young people are engaging in.
YFoundations exists to advocate for the needs of the thousands of young people facing homelessness in NSW, and for the service providers seeking to help them. Though we covered a lot of issues in our conversation, the fact that struck me most was that 50 per cent of the young people facing homelessness are turned away from crisis accommodation because the system isn't adequately funded to respond to their needs. With the right funding, crisis accommodation services and transitional housing models could provide a place for young people facing homelessness to not only live, but to thrive.
'Community housing broadly is set up to respond to the needs of adults in need of a place to live, but children and young people need so much more than a roof over their heads. When you're a 16-18 year old, even up to 23 year old, you need support from people who care about you to help you develop the skills needed to live independently.''The kinds of housing models we're advocating for – medium term and transitional housing models – include the support component,' explained John.
'The simple fact is, when a young person gets the support that they need when they experience homelessness, they can go on to escape the cycle and not return to homelessness. The reverse of that is also true: the statistics show that 50 per cent of street sleepers – the people we generally think of when we hear the term 'homeless – began their homelessness experience as a young person or as a child. Support is a form of early intervention – if you don't get those services that you need early on, then the crisis becomes more entrenched.'
When I ask him how Sydneysiders can help, John explains that it's primarily about the voting public becoming aware of how significant this issue is.'It's about having an expectation that in a country as wealthy as Australia, we don't have 43,000 children and young people a year seeking assistance. With the political will and the right investment into the right types of services, we can absolutely end youth homelessness.'
'The majority of people don't know the extent of the issue of youth homelessness, and when they learn about it, they're shocked that more isn't being done. Homelessness is a terrible breach of a young person's rights, but when they get the services that they need, they can flourish and reach their full potential.'
Some of the tangible actions that John and I discussed include writing letters to your local MPs, financially supporting crisis accommodation service providers and volunteering for homelessness charities and organisations.
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