Young people need housing support as rental crisis deepens
Youth organisations are reporting more young people are rough sleeping or couch-surfing, while organisations are experiencing a chronic lack of funding and access to housing. Young people are experiencing hardship and financial difficulty with the rising cost of living especially when transitioning to independent living, often after a period of transience and homelessness. Access to social and affordable housing is impossibly difficult, forcing most to compete for properties in the private rental market, where average rental prices are out of their reach.
Many of these young people are living in regional and remote areas of Australia, have fractured family relationships and limited support from family and social networks to assist them with the challenges of independent living, including set up costs and basic essential items. Services spend hours providing outreach, researching eligibility, determining affordability, guiding financial literacy, gathering and exhausting limited resources, role-modelling and regulating the complex needs of young people, but often lack the funds to support a young person into housing or some form of accommodation. Living in a regional area adds another layer of complexity.
So, through April, our Monthly and Once Off donors have supported three youth specific accommodation services based in regional areas, to help young people access or sustain housing or accommodation. Your generous donations collectively totalled $11,100.
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What your monthly donations mean…
Like so many regional towns across Australia, Orange has seen skyrocketing house prices and rents, and a lack of affordable rental homes has resulted in vulnerable people of all ages at increasing risk of homelessness. Most are hidden from view through couch surfing and sleeping in cars, so it is easy to assume homelessness doesn’t exist in small towns, but that is not the case. This grant will assist local young people transitioning from homelessness to independent living with some of the basic costs associated with setting up their properties for the first time.
“Set up costs for independent living can be high and above their income and earning potential. Bonds, moving costs, utility setup, first grocery shop and cleaning products for maintenance of property require a large initial expenditure outlay at point of moving, often this is beyond the modest budget of the young person.” – Veritas House on Wiradjuri Country, NSW
“There is only one funded youth crisis service and only 7 crisis beds on the Gold Coast for young people (aged 16 – 19 years of age). A number that hasn’t changed since the 1990’s. Across Queensland almost a quarter of all people experiencing homelessness are young people which means close to 5,000 individuals are without a safe and secure home. The recent census found that the Gold Coast was one of the most expensive places to rent in Australia, the UNSW City Future Research Centre (Nov 22) noted that the Gold Coast had the highest number of unmet housing needs.
With high numbers of young people coming to the Gold Coast to reside from other regions due to it’s appeal, many end up accessing inappropriate, short term holiday rentals to meet their immediate accommodation needs with inflated prices. This grant will provide vital flexible support to help vulnerable young people to access or sustain housing.”
Gold Coast Youth Service on Yugambeh Country (QLD)
“Greater Shepparton currently has the highest rate of homelessness in regional Victoria, with a combination of factors contributing to high levels of disadvantage. It is estimated to have a rate of 5.56 homeless persons per 1,000 people, with 1,041 households on the waiting list for social housing. Rental affordability has fallen by 10%, and 27% of low income households are experiencing housing stress. The rate of youth participation in university or further education is also significantly lower in Greater Shepparton (5.2% compared with 17.8% for Victoria). This grant will help provide services and support for young people to address barriers and develop skills to move through homelessness towards sustainable, safe and secure accommodation.
Too often support workers do not have access to brokerage to support with such basic essentials as food assistance, toiletries and/or household items which ensure some level of comfort when young people experience transience. This type of support is difficult and time consuming to secure so this recent grant will meet this need.”
The Bridge Youth Service on Yorta Yorta Country, VIC
April monthly project: Youth Housing grant recipients
Click on grant recipients to learn more
| Organisations | State | Grant |
| Gold Coast Youth Service | QLD | $3,700.00 |
| The Bridge Youth Service | VIC | $3,700.00 |
| Veritas House | NSW | $3,700.00 |
| Total | $11,100.00 |
Each month StreetSmart Monthly donors support a different area of need, funding smaller grassroots homelessness and community services helping meet their funding gaps. It’s a unique model that means your donations are pooled with like minded supporters to fund important services that struggle for support. Find out more below.
