Giving young people a place to call home
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
April 15 saw the annual National Youth Homelessness Matters Day (YHMD) marked by many across the country. We hosted an event, a Webinar and morning tea, to mark the day, staff coming together at La Valla and online.
Last year, across the 12 months, Marist180 supported 192 young people through our Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS).
In August 2021, when the last census was taken, there was 1601 people who were homeless in the Blacktown local government area. And around a third of those, 37%, were young people. We know though, that in terms of those census figures, they are understated; on census day, they are people in a household that are counted/reported. The numbers are in fact significantly larger than that. And we know firsthand that we are in a situation from time to time where we're having to say no to enquiries as they come through to us.
One of the fantastic things about SHS, shared other SHS agencies and services, is a ‘no wrong door policy’. If we're unable to accommodate a young person, we'll make sure that we're contacting and sharing that request with other agencies in the hope that someone can meet the need as it is at that point of time.
Our dedicated team Marist180 SHS team provide great service, dedication and care, and go above and beyond, providing so much more than a roof over the heads of the young people who we support and accommodate.
We were especially blessed and delighted to have Jay (not her real name), one of the young people that we currently support, share her lived experience of homelessness.
Jay has been homeless since 2021. Across that time, she has lived in 7 different places, excluding times of couch surfing, sleeping in libraries and on cardboard in stairwells.
Jay shared with us a whole range of challenges, injustices and inequities. These include bullying at school (as a young Muslim woman wearing the hijab) and ultimately being excluded from school due to significant absences-some of which stemmed from a sense of instability and just getting by, getting through each day, as well as hospitalisation.
Jay was brave, insightful and honest in her sharing with us-this included periods of excessive use of drugs and alcohol, which has lead/contributed to psychosis, hospitalisation and significant medication.
More latterly, Jay has been diagnosed as bi-polar. A deep and impressive insight Jay offered that she does not want to be, and is resisting being labelled and judged by the diagnosis, striving to understand what this means for her, and in addition to medication, seeking out supportive and healthy habits and practices that contribute to her being and feeling well, including meditation.
Jay currently feels well supported by her Marist180 caseworker; she expressed much gratitude for our SHS colleagues who have generously assisted her. She is currently enrolled at TAFE and looking forward to employment in the Beauty industry; she would likewise like to play a mentoring role for young people in the future, keen to offer insights and inspiration to other young people who may be stuck or struggling, and looking for support and guidance, a supportive shoulder and attentive ear.
Young people across NSW are facing increasing barriers to finding and maintaining a home - from limited housing supply to gaps in support systems. YHMD has four calls to arms/action: educate, activate, donate and activate.
Right now, in NSW – A Place to Call Home is calling on the NSW Government to commit to lasting change by:
· Increasing the supply of social housing so that 1 in 10 homes are affordable homes
· Increasing baseline funding for Specialist Homelessness Services by 50%, so services can meet demand and deliver both preventative interventions and crisis support.
Add your voice today, click here to sign the petition - A Place To Call Home & The Support To Keep It: https://homelessnessnsw.org.au/aplacetocallhome/sign-the-petition/
On April 15 Homelessness NSW hosted an event for YHMD. One of the powerful take aways I heard and has stayed with me is that a home, a roof over all our heads, is a right… not some reward that young people facing homelessness needing to navigate a difficult and bureaucratic system, and receive, having ‘proved’ their worthiness…
In 1990, Youth Homelessness Mathers Day was founded; it's great to have to seen it grow from a thought bubble to what it has today, a major campaign. That said, the converse is likewise true-if enough will, resourcing and commitment had been to the fore in the 36 intervening years, there would be no 2026 need for the Day or campaign.
A little under a year into his Papal leadership, Pope Leo has made combating homelessness a central priority, viewing it as a justice issue rather than merely charity. He has actively supported the homeless by hosting meals, gifting housing to families, and urging leaders to listen to ‘the cry of the poor’. His approach combines direct aid with calls for systemic reform; He has urged political leaders to recognise that ‘land, housing, and work are sacred rights’ and has called for global policies to move from mere charity to systemic justice. We join YHMD, and Pope Leo, in these calls for change.
