Join the fight against youth homelessness in 2023.

On Youth Homelessness Matters Day, BeyondHousing is calling for urgent action to end youth homelessness.

Did you know that over 28,000 young people experience homelessness every night in Australia? And 1 in 4 people experiencing homelessness in our region are unaccompanied young people aged 12 – 24.

Young people experience multiple and complex pathways into homelessness. The most common forms of youth homelessness are hidden and linked to unstable, unsafe, overcrowded, and short-term housing. Almost one-third of young people presenting alone to our homelessness service were couch surfing and another third were in severely overcrowded dwellings at the start of their support.

We know from their lived experience, research and decades spent supporting young people that these forms of homelessness leave them vulnerable to exploitation, and to abuse.

Around 1 in 3 young people presenting alone have experienced domestic and family violence, and many are still experiencing it in their intimate relationships. We must end youth homelessness, it matters for all young people and all communities.

Find out more about youth homelessness in our region by watching the video below.

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What it takes to end youth homelessness…

On Youth Homelessness Matters Day, we are highlighting the need for safe and supported accommodation options for children and young people and youth allocated social housing. This includes specialist youth crisis accommodation, transitional housing, specialist domestic, family, and sexual violence support, Youth Foyers, social housing, and affordable private rentals. However, there is currently a serious lack of options across this continuum of need.

Private rentals are often unaffordable, inaccessible, and unattainable for young people. To address this issue, we are calling for an increase in the rate of youth allowance and Commonwealth Rent Assistance.

BeyondHousing is calling on the Federal Government to partner with the States to build more social housing, with at least 5000 new social housing properties for young people needed to meet the number of young people on the priority housing waitlist in Victoria.

Youth Housing Matters – hear from young people who know exactly how much it does, and their hopes for housing for other young people in our region.

Lastly, homelessness continues to worsen for children and young people in Australia and there is no national strategy to tackle this crisis.

It will take a whole of government and community approach to end child and youth homelessness in Australia. This is why we are calling on YOU to sign the petition.

Demand that the Australian Government agrees to develop a National Child and Youth Homelessness and Housing Strategy today and be a part of the change.