School students take a stand for youth homelessness

A drone shot of the number 45,850 that students formed on the school oval at Mooroolbark.

BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE

More than 300 Victorian school students recently came together to visually represent the number of children and young people experiencing homelessness across Australia.

The students from Billanook College in Mooroolbark, Victoria, stood together on their school oval on 30 July to form the number 45,850, which represented the number of children and young people aged up to 24 years who were reported as experiencing homelessness on the night of the 2021 Census.

A student at the event expressed annoyance and frustration with living in a society that allowed this kind of suffering to happen.

“I didn’t know that that many people were homeless, let alone [that] youth numbers were that high, so that was really shocking and eye-opening,” another student at the event said.

Salvation Army National Schools Engagement Manager Grace Davidson said many people were unaware of the scale of youth homelessness.

“Connecting with students allows us to educate young minds on the big issues their peers are facing, what they can do to help those experiencing homelessness … and how they can seek help if they find themselves in need,” she said.

Major Brendan Nottle said as a nation, Australia needed to recognise the housing situation was "not good enough".

Project 614’s Major Brendan Nottle, who presented at the event, said the shocking numbers of young people experiencing homelessness was an “absolute blight” on Australia and an “indictment on our nation”.

“As a nation, we need to say ‘not good enough’, and we need to do everything we can to not only get young people housed but to actually get the support around them,” Brendan said.

TSA General Manager for Youth Services Natalee O’Brien said children and young people should have the freedom and opportunity to grow up in safe environments.

“Most importantly, they deserve to feel safe at home,” Natalee said. “The sad reality is that there are many children without a safe place to live.”

The event was intended to tie in with Homelessness Week 2024 as part of The Salvation Army’s End Homelessness for Good campaign.

In 2023, the Salvation Army assisted nearly 38,000 people and provided nearly 320,000 sessions of care to those at risk of or experiencing homelessness. More than one in six assisted by TSA homelessness services were accompanying children and young people aged up to 14.

This story was written using quotes and images from an article by Mikayla van Loon from the Lilydale Star.