Page 914 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 20 April 2021
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homeless. The most common reason is family or relationship breakdown. Other young people are fleeing family or domestic violence or are experiencing a housing crisis or inadequate housing conditions. Young people also experience homelessness in the transition from out of home care into independent living. The ACT Greens believe we need to have clear targets to improve these outcomes. We know that the supports offered to young people can often have profound effects in terms of reduced harms later in life.
So much of what happens to young people is beyond their control, but the outcome affects them deeply. Behind the statistics are personal stories of hardship, mental illness, family tension, neglect, substance abuse or fear, and possibly all of these things at once. Youth homelessness should be a concern for the whole community. Youth homelessness matters, but it is a complex issue. There is no single fix, no one-size-fits-all response. It requires a whole-of-government response. As Minister for Homelessness and Housing Services, I want to do my part to ensure that we can assist all young people who are in crisis.
Barnardos here in the ACT offers three programs that assist with youth homelessness: the Friendly Landlord Service, the Young Identified Accommodation Support Program, and Our Place. The Youth Emergency Accommodation Network, operated by the Salvation Army, provides support and accommodation to young people experiencing crisis when all other accommodation options have been exhausted. The Ted Noffs Foundation offers the Continuing Adolescent Life Management Program here in the ACT, providing a range of community-based therapeutic services, including individual and family counselling, life skills development, and education and vocational programs.
Last year the development of the first Youth Foyer at CIT Woden was announced. This is one of our commitments in the parliamentary and governing agreement which I am really pleased to see come to fruition.
I would like to acknowledge the work of my colleague Minister Stephen-Smith and her support for the Safe and Connected Youth Program, managed by the Conflict Resolution Service, Northside Community Service, Woden Community Service and Marymead. I further acknowledge that a Ruby’s shelter based on the South Australian prototype will provide young people with a safe place to stay while working with their families to return them home as soon as possible. That will be opening soon.
The services that I have spoken about are currently providing, and will provide, valuable support to some of the most vulnerable members of our community. I would like to acknowledge their work, and the work of many other service providers on these issues, including the Youth Coalition of the ACT and the National Youth Coalition for Housing. I apologise to the countless other people who are also doing great work in this area.
Youth homelessness matters. This day is an opportunity, as Yfoundations says, to “raise awareness and public discussion about youth homelessness so that we can develop sustainable and innovative solutions for not only supporting the needs of homeless young people, but also supporting their dreams”. We could not agree more.
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