‘Unprecedented’ spike in youth homelessness in Queensland

Advocates have pleaded with the state government to come up with a specialised solution for young homeless Queenslanders, who are being violently and sexually abused in crisis accommodation designed for adults.

Young homeless Queenslanders are being sexually and violently assaulted in mixed-dorm crisis accommodation designed for adults as advocates flag an “unprecedented” spike in youth homelessness.

A specialist service provider in Brisbane pleaded for state government support amid a 250 per cent surge in youngsters asking for help over a two-week period this month (March).

Brisbane Youth Service (BYS) chief executive Pam Barker said “I’ve never seen anything like it”.

In a two-week period up to March 24, nearly 200 youths aged between 12 and 25 required support from the group’s emergency assistance team, with about one in five aged between 12 and 17.

Over the fortnight alone, Ms Barker said there were more than 650 young children and young people in desperate need of support for housing – figures which she said had “skyrocketed”.

The concerning new data was consistent with figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Census which revealed nearly a quarter of Australians experiencing homelessness were aged between 12 and 24.

Homeless people camping in Musgrave Park, South Brisbane. Picture: Steve Pohlner

The advocate said a vacuum of specialist housing options for this vulnerable group meant children under the age of 16 were essentially forced to sleep on the street while those aged 16 and over were lumped-in with adults in mixed-dorm crisis accommodation.

“That over 16-year-old group, the only option is the backpackers which is dangerous,” Ms Barker told The Courier-Mail.

“Some of those people come from different walks of life and have different issues they‘re dealing with, so it really puts young people at risk of things like physical and sexual assaults.

“It‘s just unsafe – there’s no availability in the refuges and there’s no large-scale, youth-focused, refuge accommodation being offered up by the government.”

The BYS chief executive said the broader scale of the housing crisis in Queensland had created a “new group of homeless children and young people”, including working university students who were unable to afford or find shared rentals.

There was a growing number among this group who were pressured into sexual favours in exchange for shelter, Ms Barker said.

BYS chief executive Pam Barker

“They’re coerced into relationships or into situations where they have to choose between being on the streets where it could be worse, or making a decision that is not very good that would lead to them being a little safer.

“They’re just surviving.”

A frontline worker at the service provider told The Courier-Mail it was “soul-crushing” to be limited to unsafe accommodation options.

“To be frank with you, we’ve had some horror stories,” said Alex, who didn’t want his surname published given the sensitivity of his relationships with clients.

“We’ve had young people who have experienced sexual violence, physical violence – not only from members of the public, but actually from staff of the motels as well.

“Some young people actually choose to sleep rough over staying at the crisis accommodation.”

Queensland Council of Social Services chief executive Aimee McVeigh said stakeholders had raised concerns about the spike in youth homelessness with the government during the Housing Summit process.

But she said there was no “solution or announcement on the table to meet the needs of those people”.

Queensland Council of Social Services chief executive Aimee McVeigh. Picture: David Clark

Housing Minister Leanne Enoch insisted the state government is “determined to tackle this scourge”.

“In many cases, young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness will require a Department of Child Safety response,” she said.

“In addition to this, the Palaszczuk government has delivered increased funding of $30 million to provide a range of dedicated youth homelessness services across the state.”

But Ms Barker cited recent state government announcements to convert accommodation such as Griffith University and a Clayfield retirement village into emergency and social housing as ambitious strategies she wants replicated for young people.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we got a hotel or motel 100 per cent dedicated for young people in crisis?” she said.

“We need a youth-specific response in Queensland that allows us services to ease the pressure a little bit and keep a lot of our young people safe.”