Ask someone to think of homelessness, and they’re likely to picture a dishevelled man sleeping on the streets. They might also think of a middle-aged woman asking for money outside a train station. Almost always, the homeless person they imagine is an older person.

Yet, almost a quarter of homeless people in Australia are aged between 12 and 24.

Around 40,000 people under the age of 25 are homeless on any given night in Australia and many of them are on the street due to family violence or crisis at home. But homelessness isn’t just sleeping on the street, it takes forms less visible to the public eye. Activities such as couch surfing and sleeping in short term crisis accommodation are all considered forms of homelessness.

Being homeless has a huge impact on a young person’s life, disrupting education and financial security, and putting them at greater risk of experiencing violence and coming into contact with drugs and alcohol.

There have been many pledges made to reduce the number of young people sleeping rough, and money has been spent on government programs tasked with getting young people off the streets and reintegrating them with their families. The programs work, but our federal government is yet to implement a policy most recommended by those working in youth homelessness – extending the cut off age for foster care assistance to foster families from 18 to 21.

“Being homeless has a huge impact on a young person’s life, disrupting education and financial security, and putting them at greater risk of experiencing violence and coming into contact with drugs and alcohol.”

“It is proven internationally to keep vulnerable young people safe and secure with a roof over their heads, proven to give them the chance to stay engaged in education and to find a job, and proven in supporting them to make the successful transition into adulthood that every young person deserves”, said Paul McDonald, Chair of Home Stretch.

When a foster child turns 18, financial support to the foster family is cut off, leaving many families without the financial means to continue supporting the foster child. Many of these former foster children find themselves homeless, as they are simply not ready to manage themselves. At 18, most Australian children have recently finished or are still at secondary school. Only 20% of secondary school students have jobs and most rely heavily on their parents for support.

By cutting off funding at the age of 18, the government denies foster children the same opportunities as many of their peers who haven’t grown up in the foster system.

People under the age of 21 have significant trouble securing permanent housing, let alone a home loan to purchase property. Only 1% of housing is affordable to people on Centrelink benefits, and young renters rarely have the financial security that landlords look for in potential tenants. This means people just leaving foster care have very few viable options.

Photography by Scott Webb on Unsplash.

When the funding stops, many children in foster care simply leave home. Ill-equipped to manage in the world and with few viable options for housing, they often find themselves couch surfing or in adult homeless shelters with other homeless people often double or triple their age. They report feeling intimidated and vulnerable in these situations and the cycle of homelessness begins.

In Canada, extending the age of foster care from 18 to 21 has been shown to halve the number of homeless people younger than 25. Both New South Wales and South Australia have also extended their foster care age from 18 to 21. Homelessness is a cycle, and it has been shown that people who were homeless when they were young are more likely to be homeless as adults. We need to do everything in our power to prevent this cycle of chronic homelessness.

Extending the foster care age will significantly help Victoria’s most vulnerable group of homeless people. It will allow countless children in foster care set up their lives and kick start their transition to the adult world. Many organisations are campaigning to extend the foster care age to 21.

Leading that charge is The Home Stretch, a group of organisations lobbying politicians to instigate this change. Thanks to their relentless campaigning, the Victorian Government recently agreed to launch a trial program in which 250 people in foster care received the option, and the funding, to stay with their families until the age of 21.

This is a significant step in the right direction, and hopefully soon, extended stay in foster care will be an option available to all young people.

If you or someone you know are experiencing homelessness and need support, find a list of support services here.