Yfoundations acknowledges the NSW Government's announcement of an injection of an additional $20 million to ease pressure on crisis accommodation in this state. However, the detail on how this investment will be allocated remains unclear as yet and there is no additional funding in this budget to address child and youth homelessness.
Yfoundations also acknowledges the greater investment in child protection and out-of-home care, and while the details of this are yet to be understood Yfoundations recognises this has the potential to have a positive effect on the incidences of child and youth homelessness in this state.
Youth homelessness in NSW is at crisis point with around 50% of young people who were seeking accommodation support from homelessness services in NSW last year being turned away.
Specialist homelessness services that provide support to young people experiencing homelessness are under severe funding stress and many continue to struggle to deliver on ever-increasing demand while meet the rising costs of service delivery.
According to Yfoundations CEO John Macmillan, 'There is a structural deficit experienced by homelessness services across the state that are not being adequately funded to meet increased demand and the true cost of service provision to those experiencing and at risk of homelessness, including children and young people presenting to services on their own. The simple reality is that funding agreements used by government to commission services don't cover the real costs of service delivery and some of our member services are reporting having to run fundraising drives to cover up to 50% of their costs.'
While Yfoundations acknowledges the government's priority to provide support for the housing system and enabling access to quality housing, the lack of youth supported housing solutions, particularly in rural and regional NSW, means young people are either having to stay longer in crisis accommodation or are cycling in and out of couch surfing and crisis accommodation options to stay off the streets.
The NSW Government has committed to the development of a Child and Youth Homelessness Action Plan in its draft NSW Homelessness Strategy 2025–35, which is currently awaiting finalisation.
'It's critical the action plan is developed as a priority and that it's funded appropriately. While we're disappointed there isn't specific funding for this purpose in the NSW State Budget, we are advocating for a commitment from government to allocate a proportion of its existing social housing package to supported housing for young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness,' says John Macmillan.
'We have consistently identified opportunities that to date have not been resourced by government, and we look forward to working in partnership with government to achieve this.'
Yfoundations, in partnership with the Property Industry Foundation and UnLtd, has launched Young and Alone, a national media campaign to raise awareness about youth homelessness. This has been developed with ideation, PR and production by Ogilvy and Rabbit, with planning and delivery by PHD. The campaign also seeks to garner support to call on governments at all levels across the country to develop youth homelessness plans backed up by adequate funding to end child and youth homelessness in Australia.
About us:
Yfoundations is the peak body for youth homelessness in NSW. For over 40 years, Yfoundations has served as the NSW peak body advocating for children and young people at risk of and experiencing homelessness, and representing the services that support them. Our members and board comprise highly experienced youth specialist homelessness service providers who have direct knowledge of and experience with the issues faced by children and young people experiencing homelessness.
