youth homelessness Archives - Page 4 of 13

Causes of youth homelessness – mental health

July 21, 2023July 17, 2023

The Burdekin Association - prevention and early intervention

There are many causes of youth homelessness including family breakdown and bereavement. The top three causes of youth homelessness are generally considered to be:

Family and domestic violence
Housing crisis
Relationship/family breakdown

There are multiple others causes which are often correlative. They happen together or one causes the other or they’re bi-directional.

Exiting out-of-home care
Mental illness
Trauma – such as abuse, addiction or neglect
Addiction
Lack of housing
Unemployment

In the case of mental health, there are strong links between homelessness and the exacerbation of mental health issues, additionally mental illness can also increase the risk of homelessness.

The Mission Australia Youth Survey 2022 found:

27.7% said mental health challenges including: low mental health, stress, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem or self-harm.
19.7% said relationship challenges, death, abuse, challenging relationships with family, friends or significant others.
28.8% had high psychological distress, 23.5% felt lonely all or most of the time, 44.0% were extremely or very concerned about coping with stress. Males had higher levels of self-reported wellbeing, followed by females with gender diverse young people having the lowest at just 12.5%.
53.4% have needed help with mental health challenges, with the top barrier to seeking help being feeling stigma or shame. Read more.

I could talk to my parents about it but I am afraid of how they will react. Female, 15 VIC

Youth support services Inner West Sydney

Youth homelessness and mental health

Young people who experience homelessness are more likely to experience mental ill-health than those in stable housing.

It has been estimated that the prevalence of mental ill-health is at least 300 to 400 per cent higher among people experiencing homelessness when compared to people in stable housing.
Oyrgen’s Youth Homelessness and Mental Health report

In addition to the increased prevalence of mental ill-health among young people experiencing homelessness, it has also been shown that homelessness can increase the severity of mental ill-health. Research has found elevated levels of psychosis, anxiety, depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and alcohol and other drug use among people who are homeless.(31) As many as 90 per cent of young people experiencing homelessness have been estimated to meet criteria for diagnosis of at least one mental disorder.(32) Young people experiencing homelessness are also at elevated risk for suicidal ideation (40 to 80 per cent) and suicide attempts (23 to 67 per cent).
Oyrgen’s Youth Homelessness and Mental Health report

What is needed?

We understand far more than we ever did before about mental health and illness. Help is available but we still have a way to go to address both youth homelessness and youth mental health.

We need:

Low cost housing
Prevention and early intervention
Outreach and support
Effective programs

Further help:

In an emergency, call 000

Lifeline: 13 11 14
Kids Help Line (5–25 years): 1800 55 1800
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467
Beyond Blue: 1800 512 348
MensLine Australia: 1300 789 978
headspace

National Homelessness Week 2023

July 19, 2023July 12, 2023

It’s time again for National Homelessness Week, the annual event to raise awareness of homelessness in Australia. This year it is held from Monday 7th to Sunday 13th August with the theme – ‘It’s time to end homelessness’… We couldn’t agree more, it is high time to end homelessness and put the right measures in place to prevent it from here on.

Homelessness Week is an important opportunity to advocate for positive social change. National and local community events, media and social media activities are all taking this opportunity. Check Homelessness Australia for the latest updates including the launch of Homelessness Week 2023 focussed on the solutions needed to end First Nations homelessness.

People experiencing or at risk of homelessness face an acute housing shortage, a cost of living crisis and a rental crisis. They may also be facing the end to their out-of-home care, family violence and/or trauma (abuse/neglect), physical or mental illness, addiction, job loss and/or disability. We hear (and say) – everyone deserves a home, that it is a basic human right but so many are going without. We are seeing families and young people in crisis.

What can you do to help?

Raising awareness is good – you can do this by sharing our work on socials (see links below), have conversations with people about the issue, advocate for change – help to bring in legislation and policy change by using your vote and writing to your local MP. Sign and share this petition.

Treat your fellow humans with dignity – we have, in a way, forgotten how to look out for each other. Check on your neighbours, ask if they’re ok, if you see someone struggling help them, pay it forward, try not to judge the person next to you. Above all, organisations need funds, we can only do as much as we can by stretching every dollar.

We have an active group of supporters who help us to go the extra mile and offer wrap around services to young people beyond a safe and secure home. The need for our services has grown. We have expanded rapidly in a short period of time. While we have grown, we are providing the same level of personal care as previously, the type of care we have become known for.

Visit our community fundraising page to find lots of ideas of how you can help us secure a future for children and young people – because everyone deserves to live life to their full potential! If you would like to know ways to donate to Burdekin please visit our donation page. You might also like to consider fostering a teen or volunteering with us – however you help is always appreciated.

Home Stretch Make it 21 Campaign Update

June 22, 2023

The Home Stretch advocacy began in 2016 when 160 organisations joined forces to lobby for significant reforms for young people in out-of-home care.

At the end of 2022 the NSW government announced universal extended care to 21 years for young people in State Care from February 2023. The announcement means that every state and territory government in Australia agreed to provide vulnerable young people in foster care with support to the age of 21 years. At the time our CEO, Justene Gordon, said:

‘We thank all the young people, those with lived experience and others, who championed this effort. Ensuring young people in care have a fair, equitable, robust and real opportunity for all that life brings is what we all strive for’.

Since reform

States and Territories began to legislate reform to foster care to implement the age change.
Advocates say, the changes are too slow and much more needs to be done.

Talking about it recently in the media the Chair of the Home Stretch coalition, Paul McDonald said:

There is still a lot of work to be done. Supports for young people differ between states and they continue to have problems accessing housing. It’s time for the Australian Government to step up and help with this.”

Mr. McDonald also calls for a push for increased housing and social support for young people transitioning out of foster care.

There are also reports that the rising cost of living is exacerbating the foster carer shortage as providing care and support is getting more difficult because of the rising cost of living.

National Youth Homelessness Conference

The next National Youth Homelessness Conference takes place 24-25th July and will focus on child and youth homelessness. Organisers say, it is time that the Australian government committed to developing a national plan to address child and youth homelessness. This conference will mobilise a collective commitment to developing a joint government-NGO strategy to address child and youth homelessness nationally.

We are delighted that our Patron, Prof. Brian Burdekin AO, will deliver the opening address and our CEO, Justene Gordon, will also present at the conference.

End of Financial Year Campaign 2023

June 22, 2023June 14, 2023

Help us raise funds to employ two education specialists

Our end of financial year campaign is asking everybody to get behind us to raise funds for the continued employment of our Education Specialists. We are delighted that even when times are tough, our supporters show up again and again!

End of financial year is a busy time and we are not the only organisation asking for your help, so to those of you who have donated or are considering donating to Burdekin thank you so much! We don’t ever take it for granted.

Our young people need our support more than ever.

The Burdekin Way and positive social change.

At Burdekin, we ensure young people have a quality home where they can fulfill their potential. A home well beyond simply a physical space, rather, a home in which young people feel safe and emotionally well. A home which provides the foundation for a sense of belonging and connectedness to culture, to peers and the community. A home where they truly feel at home. No more and no less.

Once a young person has settled into their home, in line with our holistic understanding of a young person’s needs, they are supported to successfully transition to independence – breaking the cycle of disadvantage.

Once young people live an independent and well-connected life, they can contribute to their respective communities.

The Burdekin Learning Space

One of the ways, we help a young person to successfully transition to independence is with education but with the children and young people who come to us, participation in a traditional school can be difficult. In fact, 69% of the children and young people who come to us are unable to participate effectively in learning provided by the education system due to personal circumstances. 100% of young people attending the learning space lacked in confidence in a formal educational setting.

What we do works!

As a result of our dedicated Education Specialists, young people with low literacy and comprehension skills are enrolling in TAFE courses, students who were highly disengaged are now committed to learning and development, relationships and self esteem are greatly improved. Just take a look at our case studies!

Our Goal

We need to raise $180,000 annually to employ two Education Specialists full-time. If you are part of the paid workforce, you can donate directly from your salary before tax! This means you can maximise the amount you are giving. Your money goes directly to your chosen charity. By donating this EoFY, you are also taking charge of where your money goes, plus if you’re on the edge of your tax bracket, you might be able to reduce your taxable income enough to bring your tax bracket down. Check out the tax calculator!! It’s a win for everyone!

With a relatively modest investment we can help young people receive an education to reach their full potential. Please consider The Burdekin Association for your end of financial year tax donation.

Causes of youth homelessness – family breakdown

June 20, 2023June 6, 2023

The Burdekin Association youth homelessness services

Family breakdown is one of the leading causes of youth homelessness in Australia today.

According to AIHW, in 2020–21, around 41,700 people aged 15–24 presented alone to SHS agencies, accounting for 15% of all SHS clients.

The main reasons these young people presented were:

family and domestic violence (17% or around 7,000 clients).
housing crisis (17% or around 7,000 clients).
relationship/family breakdown (13% or over 5,200 clients).

Other reasons include:

Difficult family situations such as parental drug and alcohol abuse, abuse, neglect
Leaving a parental home without stable employment
Leaving state care without an appropriate plan in place
Mental illness
Alcohol and other drug issues
Rejection or trauma associated with gender identity or expression
Discrimination in the private rental market due to lower income or lack of rental references
Insecure employment
Less access to social housing

Homelessness and the LGBTIQA+ community

In 2019 the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) at La Trobe University, with support from Rainbow Health Australia and Rainbow Network conducted a report called Writing Themselves in 4. Researchers asked 6,418 LGBTIQA+ people, aged 14 to 21 about their experiences with education, homelessness, harassment, assault, mental health, community connections and more.

23.6 per cent had experienced homelessness and for 11.5 per cent it was in the past year. This was often directly related to family rejection of participants being LGBTIQA+.

In the Snapshot of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Statistics for LGBTQIA+ People from LGBTIQA+ LGBTIQA+ Health Australia. Young people aged 16 to 17 were over three times more likely to report high or very high levels of psychological distress.

The Journeys Home report found that Family rejection was a major issue for LGBTIQA+ people, and their pathway to homelessness is more complex with discrimination also coming from the housing sector.

Getting help

There are a large number of support services available today, both for young people and their families. Having open conversations about sexuality and gender is helpful, as is keeping an open mind and above all letting your child know they are loved and accepted for who they are. If you are a parent who is having a hard time, getting support from any of these organisations may be helpful. You can also ask us, we assist families and community with a range of support services.

We believe everyone deserves to feel safe, to be loved and have a home. Let us know if you found this article helpful or if there is anything you would add?