Counting the homeless on Census night

On the last Census night in 2006, the homeless population in Australia was recorded as being 105,000 people.

However, the ABS has recognised that because homeless Australians face a unique set of circumstances they have been, in the past, undercounted. As such, special procedures have been put in place to help address the transient nature of homeless people and ensure they are included in the Census.

An accurate count of homeless people on Census night will enable government and community services organisations to improve and target homeless services.

Questions for the homeless population
It’s important that all people who have no usual permanent address write ‘None’ in the ‘Suburb/Locality’ box for the usual place of residence question on the Census form, regardless of where they are staying on Census night.

This is especially important for people who are staying in temporary accommodation, including emergency accommodation, refuges or hostels, caravan parks, motels, or even staying with family or ‘couch surfing’ at friends’ homes.

Help spread the message
You can help raise awareness of the Census and the importance of Australia’s homeless population writing ‘None’ in the ‘Suburb/Locality’ box for the usual place of residence question. This ABS page also features downloadable posters and brochures to help make sure that everyone is counted on Census night.

For more information call the Census Inquiry Service on 1300 338 776 between 8:30am to 8pm, seven days a week from until 5 September 2011.

The ABS has been promoting the Census using a social media campaign that’s already attracting a lot of attention – visit www.abs.gov.au/...

Further reading:

• Discussion Paper: Methodological Review of Counting the Homeless, 2006, released by the ABS on 31 March 2011 - it followed the Census – Beyond The Count conference.
• Listen to Sally Pritchard, Census Director in Queensland, answer questions on ABC 612.

'Triple Care Farm: A Safe Place for Change' launched

Australia needs more residential drug and alcohol rehab services for young people and existing programs need to offer complementary mental health care to be more effective, according to a new Mission Australia report released today.

Launched by Australia’s pre-eminent youth mental health expert, Professor Patrick McGorry, at an event hosted by Pru Goward, the Minister for Family and Community Services, 'Triple Care Farm: A Safe Place for Change' explores the successful service model that supports young people experiencing problems with substance abuse and mental illness.

The report into Mission Australia’s Triple Care Farm – a residential program in the NSW Southern Highlands for young people aged 16 to 24 years – says the service dramatically reduces alcohol and drug use, homelessness, and improves employment and training opportunities by addressing addiction and mental illness at the same time.

The former Australian of the Year and Executive Director of Orygen Youth Health told guests at the launch at NSW Parliament House “it was a national disgrace that so few of these services were available”, and added there was a need for new thinking and new systems for supporting young people with mental health and drug and alcohol problems.

“When you look at the facts contained in this report,” he said. “you see the power of the holistic approach.”

According to the report:

• Almost one-in-ten (88 per cent) used at least one drug chronically when starting at Triple Care Farm (TCF). Six months after leaving, almost half (45 per cent) were abstaining from drug use, while 52 per cent were abstaining from alcohol.
• Approx four-in-five (79 per cent) used cannabis at chronic levels when arriving at TCF. Six months after leaving, only 4 per cent reported chronic cannabis use.
• Of 160 former TCF clients surveyed, 91 per cent were unemployed when entering TCF. Six months after leaving, almost half (43 per cent) had some form of paid employment. More than one-third (36 per cent) were in training.
• 31 per cent of the 160 surveyed were homeless at time of TCF intake. Six months after leaving, only one person in this group reported being homeless.

At the launch Ms Goward said she had visited Triple Care Farm, which is in her electorate, several times:

“Going to a Triple Care Farm graduation is like going to a revival meeting – you leave with a great sense of belief.

“Often with teenagers we think it’s just a stage they’re going through, but we can forget they are so vulnerable… Seventy per cent of Triple Care Farm students had experienced family breakdown.”

She added that the sense of trust Triple Care Farm instils should be replicated in all other services for young people.

Transformation in action

A current Triple Care Farm student told guests at the launch, including representatives from the Macquarie Group Foundation, Sir David Martin Foundation, Friends in Giving and Key Foundation, how the program is transforming her life:

“Before I was admitted to Triple Care Farm, I was constantly putting myself into situations that were not safe for me – physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally. I was so caught up in drug-taking and that lifestyle that there was no chance for me to take a breath and really think about what I was doing… I felt trapped and caught on a merry-go-round.

“I realised I needed help. I’ve been a Triple Care Farm since early June. I immediately felt comforted by the environment and the location. At my admission myself and my family were treated with respect, and no question was too silly to ask. I feel as though I can make the changes I need to make with no judgement or pressure. I’m starting to see there are other options for me and I’m excited to explore them at Triple Care Farm.”

Mission Australia’s CEO, Toby Hall, said the reason for such success is simple: it supports the young people in its care with both their drug/alcohol problems and their mental health issues at the same time.

“Despite this, most services continue to offer young people with drug and alcohol problems help with either their addiction or their mental health, not both. What we provide at Triple Care Farm – and what this new report shows is a far more effective approach – is combining both drug/alcohol rehab and mental health services. For young people, addiction and mental illness are very often related. They need to be managed together, not separately.

“The fragmentation that occurs between some services offering drug/alcohol rehab while others focus on mental illness increases the chances of young people not getting the help they need,” Mr Hall added.

“Meanwhile, Triple Care Farm can only take 100 enrolments each year and yet receives more than 6,000 inquiries from around Australia. That level of demand clearly indicates a national shortage… There aren’t enough services for this vulnerable group and what exists often isn’t effective.”

Triple Care Farm will feature on ABC TV’s 7.30 program tonight. If you are unable to view the program tonight, you could try ABC’s website at a more convenient time.

Further reading:

• 'Joint drug and mental illness treatment showing signs of success' on ABC Radio’s AM
• 'Another doorway opens for at-risk youth'
• Download the 'Triple Care Farm: A Safe Place For Change' report.

National Survey of Young Australians 2010 – what they’re saying

Mission Australia’s annual national survey, which tested the views of more than 50,000 young people, has once again sparked discussion.

One of the results from this year’s survey is the level to which young Victorians are concerned about crime, safety and violence above their interstate peers.

Thirty-two per cent of young Victorian respondents see crime, safety and violence as one of our country’s biggest issues, compared to 21 per cent nationally.

Mission Australia’s State Director - Victoria, Paul Bird, explored these findings in an opinion piece for The Punch. You can read his piece, 'Fear of violence is killing Victorian culture', here.

Mia Freedman was alarmed that body image continues to be a major concern for young Australians. “Never before have young people been so bombarded by fake images of digitally altered ‘perfection’. Is it any wonder they look in the mirror and feel bad about themselves?” she wrote on her Mama Mia blog, click here to read on.

ABC TV news last night also focused on body image, and that youth are reporting to be under increased stress levels since previous surveys, click here to view the full story.

Mission Australia releases new report: the ninth annual ‘National Survey of Young Australians’

The ‘National Survey of Young Australians 2010: key and emerging themes’ is the ninth consecutive annual youth survey report released by our Research and Social Policy team.

Download or view the full report from this link

The survey is the largest of its kind in Australia and in 2010 received over 50,000 responses from young people across the country. Respondents came from diverse communities across each state and territory.

The survey asks young Australians aged 11 to 24 about what they value, their issues of personal concern, where they turn for advice and support and their community involvement. Two new questions were included this year, regarding the most important issues facing Australia today and feelings about the future.

As in previous years, there was a great deal of consistency around what young people value and where they go for advice and support, in each case namely their family and friends.

A more complex picture has emerged from the data around young people’s issues of concern. Nationally, body image, family conflict and coping with stress were the top three issues for respondents, with over a quarter identifying each as being a major concern. However, a number of issues were of concern to a substantial proportion of respondents and in 2010 there was no one ‘standout’ issue.

The unprompted responses to the question regarding what young people thought were the most important issues facing Australia today were a little clearer, with the environment and alcohol and drugs being the top two concerns across all ages, both genders, indigenous participants, and across all States and Territories.

An encouraging finding from the youth survey was the responses to one of our new questions, feelings about the future, with approximately two thirds of young people feeling either very positive or positive about the future.

The survey report contains summaries at the national level as well as for each state and territory. There is also a chapter that compares responses from Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal respondents. Each of the chapters contains a breakdown of the key data by age and gender.

For further information, or to order copies of the report (free of charge), please contact Aimee Tyson on (02) 9219 2022 or tysona@missionaustralia.com.au.

Media Release: Body image and environment of greatest concern to young Australians

Body image is the leading personal concern for young Australians while close to one-in-two list the environment as the most important issue facing the nation according to the country's largest annual survey of young people.

The survey also shows that young Australians are wrestling with stress and school/study worries at far greater levels than in recent years.

Download or view the full report from this link

The national survey, conducted by Mission Australia, tested the views of more than 50,000 young people - its biggest group since the survey began in 2002 - between the ages of 11-24 (98 per cent aged 11-19). In addition to their concerns it surveys what young people value, who they turn to for advice, what activities they engage in and how they feel about the future.

When asked to rank their personal concerns from 15 issues body image was ranked most frequently in the top three by 31.1 per cent of respondents, followed by family conflict at 27.8 per cent and coping with stress at 27.3 per cent.

Body image was the leading issue of concern for 11-14 and 15-19 year olds and for females. Almost one-in-two 20-24 year olds considered it a major concern. For young males, body image was the second highest concern behind alcohol - 27.4 per cent to 28.5 per cent.

Coping with stress (18.7 per cent in 2009 - 27.3 per cent in 2010) and school or study problems (17.3 per cent in 2009 - 25.5 per cent in 2010) experienced the greatest increases in concern from last year's survey.

For the first time the survey asked young people for their unprompted views on the most important issues facing Australia.

Heading the responses was environment with 45.7 per cent ranking it as a 'top three' issue followed by alcohol and drugs (37.1 per cent) and crime, safety and violence (21.0 per cent). Environment was the major issue for all age groups and for both males and females.

Mission Australia's spokesperson, Anne Hampshire, said concern about body image was evenly split between young people worried about their personal appearance and the unrealistic portrayal of 'the perfect body' in the media and elsewhere.

"What came through strongly in responses was that young people are worried both about their personal body image and about how the media continues to promote a level of physical perfection that is neither healthy nor achievable. It places an enormous amount of pressure on young people," said Ms Hampshire.

"I think it tells us that despite the fact that governments, welfare groups and youth agencies have moved to tackle the issue of poor body image in recent years, there's still a lot of work to do - particularly among young adults where we saw the biggest jump in concern.

"In terms of young people nominating the environment as the most important issue facing the country it's clear from their responses they believe urgent action is required on a number of fronts.

"Young people are particularly keen for government leadership as well as a broad community response to the issue. They want Australians of all ages - including themselves - and backgrounds to take personal responsibility for their behaviour and lifestyle and how they impact on the environment.

"What's important to note with this question is that we gave respondents a clean slate.

"We didn't ask them to rank the issues - as we do with personal concerns - and that speaks volumes for the fact that almost one-in-two respondents identified the environment as the main issue facing Australia."

Ms Hampshire said increased concerns about coping with stress and school/study problems reflected the importance of equipping young people with the ability to deal with life pressures.

"We often forget the range of competing demands and pressures juggled by young people - relationships, education, employment, the expectations of parents, peers, schools, the wider community as well as themselves," said Ms Hampshire.

"This can be a very stressful time and our results bear that out. Many young people indicated they wanted to be able to manage their stress better, noting the potential negative consequences of not doing so, including a range of mental health issues.

"We need to better equip young people, including in early adolescence, with the practical strategies to help them deal with stress. The level of concern picked up in our survey suggests the merit in a broader discussion about the nature and sources of stress among young people and how we can alleviate it."

Ms Hampshire said participants clearly distinguished between matters of personal importance and those they considered national issues.

"For example, while body image was the leading personal concern, only 2.2 per cent of respondents featured it as an important issue facing Australia.

"At the same time participants saw alcohol and drugs both as significant personal concerns and as leading issues facing the nation.

"That's because, as a personal concern, they are worried about the impact of drugs and alcohol on family and friends and not having the skills to deal with the issue.

"In terms of national importance they see the impact alcohol and drugs have on the broader community. That's partly why crime, safety and violence was also a major issue of national importance - respondents often linking these issues to alcohol which we believe increases the urgency for action in this area."

One of the significant results in the 2010 survey was a reversal in the decline in the number of young people involved in extra-curricular activities.

"The number of young people involved in an arts or cultural activity - such as drama, music or dance -almost halved between the 2008 and 2009 surveys. In fact, across every single activity we surveyed participation in extra-curricular pursuits decreased in 2009.

"We put this down to how, when the global financial crisis hit, some families and young people opted to spend less on things such as dance or piano lessons or tickets to the football.

"This year, activity results have bounced back to 2008 levels and above which I think reflects some confidence in the strength of the local economy."

Ms Hampshire said despite the fact young people were shouldering a diverse range of serious concerns - often from a tender age - the survey had detected a significant level of optimism in the future.

"For the first time this year we asked participants to tell us how they felt about the future. The answer was resoundingly optimistic. Two-thirds were positive about the future while only around 9 per cent were negative. The remaining 27 per cent were neither.

"Young Australians are also incredibly grounded. When asked what they value, financial security lags way behind family and friends - that's very encouraging," said Ms Hampshire.

Download or view the full report from this link

Media contacts:

• Paul Andrews (02) 9219 2080 or 0409 665 495
• Patrick Flynn (02) 9641 5031 or 0407 411 256