17/04/2024
Today on Youth Homelessness Matters Day, it is a reminder of the 28,000 young people experiencing homelessness every single night in Australia (ABS. 2021). We believe that every young people should have a safe place to call home. In Victoria, close to 25% of people experiencing homelessness are aged under 25.
Whilst we are amid a once-in-a-generation cost of living and housing crisis, Only 1% of the Victorian Government’s $5.3 billion Big Housing Build for social and affordable housing will be spent on youth-specific housing. While the rates of young people experiencing homelessness continue to rise, they are not being considered a priority group for social housing. Young people already face difficulties accessing social housing for many reasons including not having rental histories, and not being financially competitive with other potential residents. They also face undersupply, poor-quality rental housing stock, and rapidly rising rents.
At For Change Co. we see the impacts of this every day working with young people facing constant precarity in their housing which makes it so much more difficult to engage with mainstream employment.
We know that our model of employment gives these young people the best chance to realise their goals and engage with consistent employment and education, creating lasting change. This is all the more crucial as young people at risk of experiencing homelessness face the greatest impact of this crisis.
This Youth Homelessness Matters Day, we say that now is not the time to turn inward and focus on our own financial challenges, but to provide as much support as we can to these young people who need it most and do what you can to support organisations like ours who support young people to break the cycle of homelessness.
At For Change Co. we believe we can help support young people to create their own pathway out of the cycle of youth homelessness. We do this through our Pathways For Change program, a paid, employment and on-the-job workplace training program at our For Change Cafes that works to support participants to develop the skills, confidence and knowledge to support them into any workplace and break the cycle of homelessness.
