Early intervention the key to beating youth homelessness

Ending homelessness in Australia requires a multi-pronged approach, but many aid organisations are seeing the benefit of early intervention practises and services in order to end the cycle that results in at risk individuals becoming entrenched in homelessness.

The Property Industry Foundation (PIF) has directed $58,000 to child protection charity Act for Kids, investing in the prevention of youth homelessness through early intervention.

The donation, which comes from the proceeds of a Property Council Luncheon, will go towards 600 speech pathology therapy hours for abused and neglected children in Ipswich.

PIF Chairman Greg Clarke said early intervention, through both the provision of services and housing, was the key to breaking the cycle of youth homelessness.

“We have seen the need to invest in services like those provided by Act for Kids, to support young people before they fall into the cycle of homelessness,” said Clarke.

Salvation Army data states that on any given night in Australia, 116,427 Australians are homeless, and 27,680 of these are young people aged 12-24 years.

According to the Australian Institute for Family Studies, maltreatment is often the impetus for a young person to leave home.

Clarke said the youth homelessness crisis in the country needs to be tackled from a number of angles, and early intervention has to be at the heart of any strategy.

“While our core work is in the delivery of crisis and transitional accommodation, we’re excited to also be able to support Act for Kids in providing much-needed therapy to neglected and abused young people,” he said.

Act for Kids Executive Director Karen McIntyre said the link between child abuse and neglect and homelessness meant the relationship between Act for Kids and PIF made perfect sense.

“It’s great the PIF understands that supporting our work helps to give abused and neglected children the support they need helps to remove them from the cycle of abuse and homelessness,” said McIntyre.

“The money we have received from PIF is being directed to a speech pathologist at our Ipswich centre. We need significant funds to provide these children with the support they need – this donation equates to roughly 600 hours of therapy and will make a substantial difference in the lives of those who have faced unimaginable hardships,” she said.

According to Mission Australia’s Youth and Mental Health Homelessness Report serious mental health issues and poor family functioning, are key risk factors for youth homelessness.

“We are providing therapy to children who have often had traumatic experiences, and have difficulty forming trusting relationships with adults because of those experiences,” said McIntyre. “That’s why the young people that our case workers are helping are often in our program from anywhere between 12 months to 3 years, to build those relationships of trust to work through their issues. That is what is special about our integrated therapy program, and it’s why we need all the support we can get.”

Clarke said while the issues contributing to youth homelessness were complex, by working together, the not-for-profit sector was working towards tangible solutions for at-risk young people.

“Whether it’s intervening with the right therapy, building accommodation facilities or supporting young people into meaningful work – we need to approach this problem from as many angles as possible,” he said. “Through programs like this one, the generosity of the property industry is going towards meaningful change in the lives of young people. We look forward to continuing to support likeminded organisations in the interests of Australia’s youth.”

Pearl Dy

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Pearl Dy is a community manager and journalist. She is passionate about business and development particularly involving not-for-profits, charity and social entrepreneurship.

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