Youth homelessness is Australia’s national disgrace, with 44,000 kids sleeping rough right now
YOUNG people with a mental illness are three times more likely to wind up homeless, after which their prospects of positive health and social outcomes dwindle significantly.
A new report by the charity Mission Australia will be released, identifying the major risk factors that leave 44,000 young people without a safe place to sleep.
It paints a picture of a national crisis that costs the economy $626 million every year — much more than governments spend on tackling the problem, experts say.
“It is unacceptable in 21st century Australia that there are (so many) children and young people homeless on any given night,” Mission Australia chief Catherine Yeomans said.
“They deserve a safe home and we have the means to provide it. All that is needed is the political will and the commitment from us all as a community.”
Young people with a probable mental illness are 3.5 times more likely to have spent time away from home and twice as likely to have done so on six or more occasions, the report found.
“The link between homelessness and mental health among young people works in both directions,” Ms Yeomans said.
“Young people who are experiencing mental illness are at increased risk of homelessness, while those who are homeless are at increased risk of mental illness.”
In addition, almost half of all those surveyed — some 17,000 in total — who had slept rough reported high levels of concern about family conflict.
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Read More: Young People With Mental Illness More Likely to Wind up Homeless
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