A report endorsed by Southern Downs Regional Council in Queensland highlights the issue of youth homelessness in the region and points to a way forward.
The Southern Downs Youth Housing and Homelessness Working Party was established in 2014 to address increasing numbers of youth housing and homelessness enquiries and incidents across the region.
Southern Downs’ Manager Community Services and Major Projects, Michael Bell, said research by the working party had identified a lack of specific regional data on the issue within the Southern Downs.
“This Report fills that void of specific Southern Downs data, and is the culmination of specific and targeted activities undertaken over the two-year project,” he said.
One major activity was the Southern Downs Youth Homelessness/Social Housing and Support Services Audit to identify what services already existed and what the gaps and needs were in service delivery.
The other key activity was the conducting of the Youth Housing and Homelessness Survey of more than 1700 young people between the ages of 12 to 25 years across the Southern Downs.
The survey enabled the collection of accurate data from the Southern Downs region, which was subsequently analysed and compared with both national and state statistics.
The data collected has informed the 2016 Report, providing a clear understanding of current capacity, existing gaps and identified needs for the region’s young people.
Mr Bell highlighted some concerning statistics: “The youth survey showed that 8.6 percent of young people in our region experienced homelessness in the previous 12 months, and 16 percent said they knew of someone who experienced homelessness in that previous 12 month period.
“It’s clear that local services are doing their best to cope with these issues, however, as the audit shows, there is not enough, nor adequate service provision, in the area of youth housing and homelessness to cater for the needs of young people in the Southern Downs.”
Survey data also shows that 10.8 percent of those experiencing homelessness are seeking refuge with friends and other families.
In the year prior to February 2016, of the 1717 young people surveyed, 147 reported that they had no place to go and 50 of them had slept in a park or on the street during that period.
The Report identifies five key priority areas that need to be addressed by the community going forward, said Mr Bell.
“These key priorities include education and life skills programs for young people; a youth hub or collaborative centre for youth services; investigation of the Community Placement (early intervention) model to support young people and their families; and most importantly, short and long term housing for young people, along with seeking funding for supported, crisis and transition housing for young people in our region.
“Importantly, this Report maps out the pathway or next steps to begin to address these priorities and, to which, all working party members have committed.
“Among these is to make representations to State and Federal members, Ministers and government officials, and to share information and keep data up to date to support future initiatives.
“There is also a commitment to investigate funding opportunities and to support other community organisations to submit funding applications targeting the key priority areas.
“Raising awareness of the housing and homelessness issues affecting young people in our region can also be achieved through events and activities.
“Key among these will be a forum that engages local organisations, representatives from all tiers of government, community members and young people.
“Now is the time to get serious about these issues facing young people in our region, and this report provides the ammunition our community needs to get cracking and work towards solutions for the short to long term,” said Mr Bell.
Members of the Southern Downs Youth Housing and Homelessness Working Party include: Southern Downs Regional Council; Community Development Services (CDS) Stanthorpe; Southern Downs Industry Education Association (SDIEA); headspace Warwick; Red Cross (Youth Support); The Salvation Army –Warwick; and St Vincent De Paul – Cornerstone Warwick, with contributions from Red Cross Youth Housing and Reintegration Services (YHARS) and Fledge Community Development in the service audit stage.
