As we head into the Easter holidays filled with Easter eggs and quality time with loved ones, let’s turn our attention to the rapidly increasing numbers of children throughout Queensland who are sleeping rough this long weekend.

Young people aged 12-25 years face the highest rates of homelessness in Australia, and Queensland is no exception. According to a 2023 ABS census, 37 per cent of homeless people in Queensland are aged under 25 years, including children under 12.

This age group is being disproportionately impacted by a housing crisis that is pushing safety and security further and further beyond their reach. Children and young people are experiencing family violence at a concerning rate, with many being forced to leave home and commence a long journey to safety – including nights spent sleeping rough in inner city Brisbane.

Brisbane Youth Service CEO Pam Barker

Sleeping rough is a horrendous experience, with many young people terrified and needing to stay hyper-vigilant to survive. Despite the risks, children and young people are choosing the streets as a safer alternative to hostels.

Our youth workers do their best to keep young people safe, however, they are often forced to present the tough choice of sleeping rough or in a hostel dorm environment with adults – both of which present very real risks of exposure to further trauma and exploitation. Every week, we hear horror stories of experiences in adult hostels where intimidation, theft, and physical and sexual abuse are commonplace.

Children aged 12-15 who are too young for even hostel accommodation must compete with sometimes 30 other young people vying for one available bed in a shelter, with no safe alternative for those who miss out.

Our frontline workers are seeing unprecedented numbers of young people in crisis, with demand for support up 88 per cent in just three years.

In the past month, Brisbane Youth Service has helped more than 100 young people needing food relief.

The number of young people sleeping rough continues to rise, with more than 30 young people known to be living in parks and public spaces around Brisbane. At Brisbane Youth Service, we have provided more than 909 occasions of support in the last month.

I have never seen homelessness numbers like these. It is beyond what the current infrastructure and budgets can manage. With the exponential increase in demand must come an increase in services.

Let’s be clear, we’re talking about children as young as 12, who through no fault of their own, have slipped through the cracks. Youth homelessness is rarely the fault of the victim – rather their plight is commonly the collateral damage of domestic violence, mental health, family breakdowns, and financial hardship brought on from wider societal issues. These young people have no options, we so need to create those options for them – urgently.

Every day we see that the right support can make a significant difference to a young person experiencing homelessness. The Queensland Government funds programs that work and that have changed the lives of many young people. But with youth homelessness increasing at a shocking rate, the support available must rise to not just meet the needs but ultimately anticipate them, so we don’t have children sleeping on park benches.

We urgently need a youth homelessness centre in Brisbane that can accommodate real demand and is better fit for purpose, while we work on longer-term solutions.

Services that provide early intervention and prevention to keep families together must be invested in quickly, along with increased accessibility of rental subsidies to prevent young people and young families from experiencing eviction from the private rental market.

We need investment in emergency shelters that provide a safe bed to a young person, with specialist staff trained to provide assertive and brief intervention to either work with the young person to return to their family if it is safe or refer them to other longer-term options.

We must increase the availability of more transitional accommodation models such as youth foyers, which are designed to house a young person for up to two years whilst they finish school or learn vital skills for independence. These models allow young people to move through the challenges that prevent them from sustaining a tenancy.

We also need more youth-friendly affordable and social housing. When we house young people, we can’t just provide them with a bed and expect them to never fall back into homelessness. It is critical to provide the wrap-around support and resources to sustain their tenancy.

With Youth Homelessness Matters Day approaching, we must do whatever it takes to break the cycle.

Pam Barker is CEO of Brisbane Youth Service.