Young parents absent from youth homelessness report

Brave Foundation welcomes Mission Australia’s The Unfair Divide youth homelessness report however highlights the absence of the experiences of young parents or pregnant youth.

Brave is Australia’s only national not-for-profit dedicated to supporting expecting and parenting young people. Informed by those with lived experience, Brave’s flagship mentor program works one to one with young parents to provide intentional and bespoke support to them to achieve their goals, as an individual and family.

More than 320 young parents are supported by Brave each year and 77% were at risk of homelessness or were homeless when they were referred between July 2023 and June 2024. This is a notable difference to the nearly one in 10 young people (aged 15 to 19) who faced homelessness in the past year, according to the Mission Australia report.

Brave CEO Jill Roche said the report underscores a critical need to provide effective support for young parents, many of whom face housing insecurity and homelessness.

“The report acknowledges that homelessness for young people can be distressing and scarring, and this experience is intensified for young people who are also caring for their children or trying to stay healthy during their pregnancy,” she said.

“Many of the young parents we work with around Australia are facing housing insecurity or homelessness in addition to a myriad of other challenges that create barriers to building the life they want for themselves and their children.”

Brave sees a missed opportunity in the report to acknowledge the experiences of young parents who are at risk of homelessness or currently homeless.

“Young parents frequently feel judged about their circumstances and when they don’t see themselves reflected in the media or in reports it makes it even harder for them to access support,” Ms Roche said.

Chanell is a young mother to three children who was homeless after leaving a domestic violence situation. Sleeping on a friend’s couch, she rejected the first offer of a share house shelter.

“Being in a shelter, coming from the situation I was in and sharing a house with people I don’t know… that would have been our last resort. Our own space was a priority,” she said.

It was another week before she was offered a place at a women’s shelter where the family could stay in a unit of their own. They stayed there for three months. 

“How do you explain to your children that you’re living in a homeless shelter, that you don’t have your own place to live?”

Although she is now in more secure housing, she doesn’t know what the future holds. “At the moment I am not 100% sure what is going to happen,” she said.

The report highlights the lack of suitable age-appropriate, affordable housing for young people, and this reflects the experiences of the young people Brave supports.

“Chanell’s experience is harrowing but sadly, not unique for the many young parents around Australia who are leaving domestic violence situations or whose family relationships have been fractured due to their pregnancy at a younger age,” Ms Roche said.

“Our experience in working with expecting and parenting young people has shown that with the right support, encouragement and connections, young parents and their children can thrive. We need to ensure young parents are empowered to start their parenting journey with a solid foundation and in a safe and stable environment.”