Concerns About Young People Leaving Care Into Homelessness

MEDIA RELEASE

18th November 2009

The National Youth Coalition for Housing (NYCH), speaking as the national youth homelessness peak welcomes the release of the CREATE Report Card 2009: Transitioning from Care.

The Report Card emphasizes concerns that young people leaving care are not receiving adequate support and assistance to plan for and support them through this process.

The Report Card highlights the advanced risk of homelessness faced by young people leaving care, finding that over 40% of the young people surveyed by CREATE reportedly didn't know where they would be living on leaving care, and over one third had at least one experience of homelessness in their first year of independence.

We also know from other research that there is evidence to suggest, that without comprehensive transitional plans for leaving care there is an increased risk of a pathway that leads from young people leaving care through to youth homelessness into chronic adult homelessness.

Michael Coffey, NYCH Co-chair, says that:
"Create's report card further emphasises the importance of the need for comprehensive transitional plans for children and young people leaving care, to ensure that they do not fall into homelessness.

"NYCH looks forward to engaging with all levels of Government at a policy level to progress this learning and to ensure that young people leaving care do not experience homelessness and that together we achieve the White Paper goals to halve homelessness by 2020 and put an end to the cycles of disadvantage that lead young people to homelessness."


Contact

Michael Coffey
Co Chairperson
0425 228 758
[email protected]


SOURCE: National Youth Coalition for Housing