Compass follows three journeys away from homelessness

Around one in five Australians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime – and of those many are young people who end up homeless.

In fact, the vast majority of homeless people who sleep rough on Sydney's streets have serious mental health problems, including schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders and mental trauma after a shocking event such as the loss of a child.

On Sunday ABC1’s Compass featured ‘A Roof Over Their Heads’, a film focusing on how Mission Australia supports homeless people in Sydney. The program followed the lives of three young men who Mission Australia worked with in 2010 to help manage their illness, find work and build independent lives.

The three men were all participants in Mission Australia’s Inner City Housing Program (ICHP). This program, which we ran in partnership with St Vincent's Hospital and Churches Community Housing, had terrific results in turning people's lives around - with 70 per cent successfully moving into independent accommodation on completing the 18-month program.

The Compass film was run just days after the release of ‘How homeless men are faring – Some initial outcomes from The Michael Project’, a snapshot’ report on Mission Australia’s initiative that aims to help homeless men rebuild their lives. This initiative has also shown early signs of success, with participants reporting improvements in their job prospects and housing circumstances after the first three months.

For more of an insight into the causes of homelessness, and how Mission Australia strives to offer solutions, watch  "A Roof Over Their Heads" here.

Read our previous story on ICHP here.