One in ten young Territorians experienced homelessness during the pandemic

The rate of youth homelessness in the NT soared during the pandemic, and shows a stark difference compared to the rest of the country.

ONE in ten young Territorians experienced homelessness for the first time during the pandemic.

According to data from Mission Australia, the NT’s rate of 15 to 19 year old’s without a safe home has more than doubled most other states and tripled the rate in Victoria and Tasmania.

10.3 per cent of young people surveyed said they had experienced homelessness, with the national figure 4.8 per cent.

This was an increase of the Australia-wide 3.8 per cent recorded in 2017.

Mission Australia’s area manager for Greater Darwin Ana Aitcheson said there were a number of reasons the country saw a huge increase in youth homelessness.

“They saw high levels of psychological distress, family conflict and loss of family income — so there’s a huge variety of things as to why it could be,” she said.

An increase in youth homelessness in young people doesn’t just mean more people sleeping on the streets though, Ms Aitcheson said.

“Homelessness looks really different to different people — some it comes down to not feeling safe at home, but it can also be people who have fled domestic violence and are living between refuges or even couch surfing with friends,” she said.

Ms Aitcheson said homelessness had always outstripped the rest of the country, which was in part related to the lack of housing and staffing issues.

“We don’t have the houses and we don’t have the workforce,” she said.

“We need experienced people up here because the issue is so complex.”

Ms Aitcheson said early intervention and local solutions were key in improving the problem.

“We need to get into early intervention so we’re able to screen for these factors before it even happens.

“It’s about coming together and investing locally,” she said.

“There’s lots of national strategies but the NT’s really special and different and we need to have a special and different approach.”

“All people have the right to have a safe space to call home,” she said.

Originally published as One in ten young Territorians experienced homelessness during the pandemic