Urgent Need for Coordinated Strategy
New figures reveal significant failures in Victoria's response to youth homelessness, with nearly half of young people seeking help from homelessness services battling severe mental health issues.
According to data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 10,924 young Victorians aged 15 to 24 turned to homelessness services alone last year. Among them, 5,276 were dealing with mental health conditions severe enough to require hospitalisation.
Deborah Di Natale, CEO of the Council to Homeless Persons, stated, "Young people are presenting to emergency departments alone, suicidal and in crisis, only to be turned away or discharged straight back into homelessness." She emphasised the need for a dedicated plan for Victoria's homeless youth.
Calls for a Unified Approach
Di Natale highlighted the fragmented nature of current services. She remarked, "This is the result of services operating in silos, with no overarching plan enabling agencies and providers to work together." A Youth Homelessness Strategy tailored to the needs of young people is urgently required.
Despite a 2021 recommendation from the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System for 500 dedicated mental health homes, these have yet to be delivered. Di Natale emphasised, "We are now living in a mental health emergency when it comes to young people experiencing homelessness and it’s deeply concerning."
Paul Wappett, CEO of Melbourne City Mission, expressed concern over young people being turned away from hospitals due to a lack of fixed addresses. He described it as a fundamental failure of care, noting, "In some cases, they are denied care altogether because they don’t have a fixed address. That is not just unacceptable, it is a fundamental failure of our duty of care to children and young people."
Wappett pointed out that every four days, a young person in Australia dies while experiencing homelessness, often after being denied necessary support. He called for 5,000 social housing homes for young people to address the crisis.
The data also showed that out of 14,261 young people seeking medium to long-term accommodation, 9,102 were turned away, highlighting the system's inability to meet demand. This gap underscores the urgent need for improved resources and coordination among services.
