The last time an Australian government made housing the homeless a priority was 15 years ago. The Albanese government’s promised plan is a second chance to get it right by drawing on models that work.
Ontario’s moratorium on youth leaving care once they turn 18 expires on March 31, 2023, with a redesigned policy coming into effect on April 1.
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Ontario’s new policy on youth leaving care comes into effect April 1. While the policy provides welcomed support for youth, there are still gaps that need to be addressed.
In any given town, community and neighbourhood there will be homeless children, sometimes as young as 10, who are surviving without the effective care and protection of parents or guardians.
JobKeeper, the COVID boost to JobSeeker, and moratoriums on rent increases and evictions all ended this month. Only smarter policies will prevent homelessness, as a landmark Victorian report explains.
The system isn’t working to prevent young Australians becoming homeless and to house them when they need it. New research finds a shift to proven community-based approaches can end decades of failure.
The link between survival and art creation for some youth suggests that meaningful activity may be a necessary dimension of youth homelessness prevention.
Tom Parsons/Unsplash
Research shows meaningful and accessible activity like sports and arts may have significant impacts for homeless youth or youth at risk of homelessness.
Young refugees are at high risk of being homeless in Australia. A five-year study has found re-establishing connections with their communities was the pathway out of homeless for most of them.
The public outrage at the killing of Courtney Herron, including a vigil in the park where her body was found, demands more than a knee-jerk response from government.
Daniel Pockett/AAP
The brutal killing of a young homeless woman has led to calls for more crisis accommodation. This is a short-term fix. We have to move beyond crisis management to sustained housing for people at risk.
Despite a ten-point roadmap and bold commitments, Australia has not stayed on track to reduce youth homeless over the past decade.
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In 2008, Australia had a national homelessness strategy, plus a ten-point roadmap to reduce youth homelessness. Why has it fallen so far short of its goals, and what still needs to be done?
Problems such as mental illness and drug addiction are confined to a minority of homeless people – and it’s preventing others from getting help.
In 2016, James Edwards, right, poses with fellow residents at the Plymouth Crossroads youth homeless residence in Lancaster, N.Y., as he prepares to leave for college. Edwards finished high school while homeless.
AP/Carolyn Thompson
Roughly 700,000 students ages 13 to 17 have experienced homelessness in the last year. An education researcher says the obstacles that these students face can threaten their college dreams.
Of those who have experienced homelessness, 62% cite family breakdown or conflict as the main reason for becoming homeless for the first time.
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Parental separation substantially raises the risk of homelessness by the age of 30 for girls and boys, but only boys are affected by a break-up after the age of 12.
Some homeless youth facing criminal charges in NSW are being accommodated in prisons.
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Homeless children charged in NSW with a criminal offence who are unable to meet bail conditions are being kept in custody. It’s due, in part, to a well-meant but flawed section of the Bail Act.
The women were not supported through traumatic events.
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I conducted interviews with 26 young women in alcohol and drug treatment services in Victoria. More than half of them disclosed a history of sexual abuse and 20 spoke about cutting themselves.
Locating and identifying people who are homeless is inherently challenging.
Susie Blatchford, used with permission
Reliable data about the homeless population is vital when developing policy, allocating funding and developing services for vulnerable people. But first the census needs to find them.
Homeless young people have a significantly higher prevalence of adverse health issues and greater levels of contact with the justice system.
AAP/Mick Tsikas