1 in 7 Australian teens at risk of homelessness

Up to one in seven young Australians are at risk of becoming homeless at some point in their life, according to a national report on youth homelessness released on Tuesday.

Mission Australia, the not-for-profit which released details of the study, said around 44,000 young people are homeless on any given night, with many staying temporarily with friends, other family or using free "couchsurfing" websites.

The Home and Away: Child and Youth Homelessness report took accounts from 19,000 Australian youths aged between 15 and 19 and found that one in seven had left home at some stage during the past three years.

Of those, 85 percent were repeat absentees from home, prompting fears from Mission Australia's CEO that there was a funding shortfall in battling youth homelessness.

Catherine Yeomans said the results of the survey were "disturbing" and called on the government to do more when the 2016 budget is released later this year.

"These results indicate that a disturbing number of our young people are at risk of homelessness," Yeomans said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Having to leave the family home because they felt they couldn't go back, with some young people having to leave on multiple occasions and for months at a time, coupled with a background of poor family relationships means that these young people are very vulnerable to homelessness.

"It is unacceptable in 21st century Australia, there are more than 44,000 children and young people homeless on any given night, and our report shows that the tide is not slowing.

"Last year we called on the Federal Government to commit to halving youth homelessness by 2020. This report once again highlights the need for immediate action."

The report also found that young people who had left home at some point were "much more likely to be concerned about family conflict, depression, coping with stress and suicide" compare to those who did not have to leave home.

More than half of the young people who left home were "extremely" or "very concerned" about stress, while 28 percent were "extremely" or "very concerned" about suicide.

Around one in five also said they felt either "negative" or "very negative" about the future.

Yeomans said the report called for early intervention and government support, both with youth services and with funding, to ensure there was suitable, stable housing for those who feel the need to leave home.

"In this context of talking about budget cuts, let's be really careful about where we are investing money," she said.

"Investing money in early intervention in our young people will pay dividends for society in to the future."
   [Xinhua - globaltimes.cn]
  16/2/16