Most dangerous place they know
There's a lot of stigma around youth homelessness. There are so many reasons why youth become homeless. The biggest factor is family violence.
No, it's not always the stereotypical person on a park bench or in an alleyway. Especially youth homelessness, it looks like mates sleeping on another mate's couch. It's going out doing all night benders because you know if you go home on the weekend, it might not be safe for you.
Often family are not safe for them. And that's sort of the family violence that we see the most in the Young Adults Outreach team.
Working with this young girl, she was introduced to someone who was 17 years older.
Unfortunately, her mom identified this person as a safe person. This young person was 11. The older male obviously took advantage and by the time she was 16. That's all she knew was a safe relationship.
Years later, she tried to break away from him. She came to us at that point. She was 17. I was able to help her get into a youth refuge.
He found her and unfortunately, she fell pregnant after a sexual assault. But eventually she was offered long-term community housing and that's when things really turned around for her because it's really hard to leave the cycle if you don't have a safe place to live.
We are seeing a lot more young moms come through which is really concerning because there just aren't the facilities the supported accommodation options for them that they need.
There's just a big lack of support out there and we do the best that we can and we often make miracles happen, but the reality is it's it's really tough when they come through and they are some of the people in our society that need the most help.
People need you to believe in them so that they have something to hold on to to give life a go. Because often people hit a point where they're questioning, you know, do I really want to be here?
Do I really want to go through that? But if you've got someone that you know is on your side, is constantly going to show up for you, it makes a world of difference, being able to be there for them emotionally, holding space for someone can be the most powerful thing you can give someone. It's human connection and it's meeting people where they're at.
___________________________________
Ebony, from the Young Adults Outreach team at VincentCare Victoria, shares the story of a young woman trapped in years of violence, instability and unsafe housing and what it took to finally break the cycle. As Ebony says, "It's really hard to leave the cycle if you don't have a safe place to live." More young mums are now coming through, often with children, often escaping violence, without the supported accommodation they desperately need. The gap is real. And it's growing.
That's why the Vinnies CEO Sleepout matters. On 18 June, business and community leaders will sleep out to raise funds for the housing, support and pathways that give people escaping domestic violence a real chance at safety and stability.