Every four days, a young homeless person aged between 15 and 24 dies, with suicide the leading cause of death, according to new figures released this week. Source: ABC News.
Community support organisation, Melbourne City Mission cross-checked Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data with coronial records and homelessness services to try to estimate the prevalence of suicide in young people without a fixed address.
“We’re seeing one of the worst homelessness crises, and the lack of youth housing is completely out of step with the fact that 19 to 24 year olds experience the highest rate of homelessness of any age group in Australia,” Douschka Dobson from Melbourne City Mission told Triple J Hack.
“It is absolutely devastating that every four days in Australia, a young person is dying in homelessness.”
The data shows the majority of deaths are through suicide.
Clinical mental health services in the public hospital system in Victoria are provided on a geographic basis, but if services are required by a person who has no fixed address, they must be provided by the hospital in the area they present.
“When a patient presents to a hospital emergency department they are triaged based on their condition to ensure they get the care they need — where they live isn’t a factor in this process,” a spokesperson for the Victorian Department of Health said in a statement.
Young people aged 19 to 24 experience the highest rate of homelessness of any age group in Australia, according to Melbourne City Mission.
The data indicates it is getting harder for young people to break out of the cycle of homelessness.
On top of that, rates of mental ill-health in young people across the board are worsening, according to Vivienne Browne, the Director of Policy at Orygen, the National Centre for Excellence in Youth Mental Health.
Melbourne City Mission and Orygen have released a report into the relationship between homelessness and mental health, called Home in Mind.
The report makes a number of recommendations, including an investigation by Victoria’s Coroner’s Office to understand how young homeless people who died by suicide were treated if and when they sought mental health care.
FULL STORY
Experts say young Australians are experiencing the highest rate of homelessness (By Shalailah Medhora, ABC News)
National FREE 24/7 Crisis Services: • Lifeline 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au • Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au • Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 www.kidshelpline.com.au • MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78 www.mensline.org.au • Beyond Blue Support Service 1300 22 4636
