Government Media Release: Mission Australia to provide accommodation support for young offenders in Riverina Murray

Mission Australia has been selected for an important accommodation support service in the Riverina Murray region aimed at helping young offenders with a history of homelessness gain independent living and stay out of custody, said John Hubby, Chief Executive, Juvenile Justice, Department of Human Services NSW, today.

"After a thorough tender process, the Supported Accommodation Service contract was awarded to Mission Australia for services in the Riverina Murray region.

"Mission Australia provided excellent value for money, and demonstrated vast experience and expertise in delivering similar services in the Riverina Murray. The contract provides more than $1.5 million to the organisation for the next three years," said Mr Hubby.

"The service will target young offenders aged 13 to 18 years with complex needs and a history of homelessness.

"It is important for the service to reach young people leaving detention, particularly Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander young people and those under 16 years old.

"The most recent survey of young people in custody revealed that six per cent were residing in unsettled accommodation or had 'no fixed place of abode', with young women representing 18 per cent. More than one-quarter (27 per cent) had moved two or more times in the six months prior to custody, and this was more for Aboriginal young people at nearly a third (32 per cent).

"By providing the Supported Accommodation Service, the Department of Human Services NSW is aiming to ensure lasting change in the life of a young offender with a history of homelessness, and assist in their reintegration into community living.

"Mission Australia will provide accommodation support to the young people including long term independent living options and social housing. They will develop individual case plans with the young people addressing offending behaviour, and deliver support services to improve their integration back into the community," said Mr Hubby.

Support services to be offered include:

• Improving a young person's social and community living skills;
• Providing vocational, educational and training opportunities;
• Linking young people to counselling; and
• Active involvement in the young person's family and support network.

"Accommodation services for young offenders with a history of homelessness will help to reduce the risk of them coming in and out of the criminal justice system," said Mr Hubby.

The Supported Accommodation Service is an initiative of the NSW Homelessness Action Plan. It is funded through the Commonwealth Government's 'National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness' whereby Commonwealth and States and Territories are working together to significantly reduce homelessness by 2013.

The Supported Accommodation Service will also be delivered in South West Sydney and the Mid and Far North Coast of NSW.

To access the NSW Homelessness Action Plan, visit the Housing NSW website:
www.housing.nsw.gov.au

Media Contacts: 

• Bernadette Rose, Juvenile Justice, Ph: 9219 9581 Mobile: 0459 808 716
• Leanne Budd, NSW Media Manager, Mission Australia, Ph: 9217 1082 Mobile: 0457 505 342

Media Release: Groundbreaking new youth homeless services launched in south-west Sydney

The NSW Minister for Community Services, Linda Burney, will today launch a groundbreaking new Mission Australia service to help young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Sydney’s south-west.

Mission Australia’s Canterbury-Bankstown Youth Accommodation Service (CBYS) will offer tailored and specialised care to around 125 young people each year – including young parents with children – many from non-English speaking backgrounds.

Funded by the Department of Community Services, Mission Australia’s CBYS is designed around the needs of young people – whatever their background, culture, language and stage of homelessness.

Traditionally, homeless services – including those for young people – have offered ‘one size fits all’ support that struggled to address the diverse reasons behind an individual’s homelessness and the length of time they’d spent without a home.

Services have also been one-dimensional – that is, only offering one type of support, eg: early intervention (eg: helping a young person avoid homelessness by addressing family conflict), crisis accommodation or transitional housing.

According to Mission Australia’s Irene Drivilas, CBYS provides a new approach to youth homeless support because it offers continuity of care regardless of a person’s circumstances.

“CBYS offers bespoke care according to what fits the young person best,” said Ms Drivilas.

“Young people will enter and exit CBYS at any point – there is no fixed path.

“While we might work with one person to maintain their existing tenancy and avoid becoming homeless, another may be provided with accommodation for 18 months, while another receives post-crisis support where they have been homeless and now needs help to make sure they don’t finish up there again.

“We’re also not constrained by where a young person lives. Care can be provided in the range of accommodation we offer or, if they’re at risk of homelessness, even in the young person’s home.

“It’s all about flexibility – it’s not about making people fit into a system. Young people can move through the service’s different accommodation and support options as needed.”

The NSW Minister for Community Services, Linda Burney, said the NSW Government was providing $928,000 in annual funding for the service.

“I am very pleased to be able to open this new service for young people,” Ms Burney said.

“Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) services such as these address the fact that homelessness is a complex problem and the people confronting it typically have a range of issues to overcome.”

Mission Australia’s CBYS offers:

• A range of accommodation including: an intensive (24/7) supported crisis shelter for young people (16-21 years); four properties offering transitional housing for young people beginning the path towards independent living; and 10 properties offering affordable housing for young people needing long-term semi-independent housing (two of which are designated for young women who are pregnant and/or parenting).
• A youth outreach support program including a designated Adolescent and Family Early Intervention Counsellor. The outreach program will focus on homelessness prevention among 16-25 year olds by providing advice and case management.
• An Education Support Worker to work closely with case managers to link young people to education, training and employment opportunities.

“Canterbury-Bankstown is an incredibly diverse area – culturally, linguistically and economically. Close to 36 per cent of people in Bankstown and 47 per cent in Canterbury were born overseas,” said Ms Drivilas.

“Disadvantage is also common. Canterbury and Bankstown LGAs are the third and fourth most disadvantaged areas within Sydney; youth unemployment is close to 30 per cent; and the median weekly family income in both LGAs is lower than the national average.

“There’s also a shortage of affordable one or two bedroom apartments with increasing numbers of young people, particularly those from non-English speaking backgrounds, drifting into homelessness.

“Given these factors – and the reality that there’s no one single cause of youth homelessness and young people will have a range of reasons for seeking our help – we needed to provide a service that was able to cope with that diversity and not just meet the needs of one group.

“We’re particularly proud of the fact that we’re able to help young parents – singles and couples – and their children.

“Families are one of the groups most frequently turned away from homeless services because of a lack of appropriate accommodation and traditionally these clients would not be able to access a youth service. In a couple’s case the parents would have been split up – mum and child in one service, father in another. At CBYS we have the accommodation mix to keep the young family unit together.

“This is a unique service for south western Sydney and one of the first programs of its type in the country. It represents a new way of addressing the serious issue of youth homelessness and we’re very optimistic it will be a success,” said Ms Drivilas.

Media contact: Paul Andrews (02) 9219 2080 or 0409 665 495