Youth Homelessness Matters Day - April 18
On any night in Australia 105,000 people are homeless and nearly half of these are under the age of 25.
April 18 is Youth Homelessness Matters Day, raising awareness of the thousands of youths in Australia who live without permanent or sufficient accommodation.
Youth Homelessness Matters Day aims to raise awareness and support for this national problem, while celebrating the resilience of Australia’s youth. The event, as a part of National Youth Week, will also provide information on how the public can help with youth homelessness.
Being homeless doesn’t just mean sleeping rough on the streets, it includes any situation in which a child or young person has no permanent or secure accommodation of their own.
Many homeless youth fall into the secondary category of homelessness meaning they are more likely to be:
- a young person in school who is sleeping on friends’ couches and moving from friend to friend
- a young person in a youth shelter who is on income support; or
- a young person who is in an apprenticeship or traineeship who is living in a tent
- a young person or child who is accompanying a parent who is escaping domestic violence
In reality, many young people become homeless due to family breakdown, family violence and child abuse.
The Royal Children’s Hospital has facilitated a clinic for young homeless and marginalised people called the Young People’s Health Service since 1991. For more information visit Centre for Adolescent Health : Young People’s Health Service
Find out more about how you can get involved in Youth Homelessness Matters Day and help Australia’s most vulnerable young people get a better start.
Be a part of the solution
