A GRASSROOTS service which aims to reduce and prevent homelessness among children and young people is readying to launch a program to help teens obtain a driver's licence.
The costs and supports necessary to obtain a licence is a massive obstacle for kids with no place to call home, says Path 2 Change chief executive officer Jennifer O'Sullivan.
Young people experiencing homelessness often do not have family or other supports to help them with driving lessons, Ms O'Sullivan said.
"The kids need to log so many supervised learner driver hours now, and the costs have increased as well so that makes it very inaccessible for the young people we see," Ms O'Sullivan said.
Path 2 Change, which operates across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens, and the Lower Hunter Valley, has come up with a pilot program called Pathway Wheels.
Wheels for work
The program recognise the significance of having a driver's license for accessing employment opportunities, and building their sense of independence.
It involves volunteer instructors using a work car as well as paid driving lessons.
The organisation, with a small team, also offers case management in partnership with specialist homelessness services and out of home care providers, as well as life skills programs and mentoring.
During Homelessness Week 2024 launched on Monday (August 5) path2change has joined other organisations nationally, led by Homelessness Australia and Everybody's Home, in calling for the 10-year National Housing and Homelessness Plan to set an ambition to end homelessness.
A new report released on Monday by Homelessness Australia says more than 76,000 children under the age of 18 sought help from homelessness support services across the nation annually.
Kids on the run
Almost 16,000 of those children were alone-unaccompanied by a parent or caregiver-and many were fleeing domestic violence, abuse or neglect at home.
The 2024 Child Homelessness Snapshot, released to coincide with Homelessness Week, also revealed more than 25,000 children remained homeless even after seeking help from specialist support agencies in 2022-23, a nationwide 3.2 per cent increase over the previous year.
A further 19,833 children were turned away from support services without being provided any assistance at all, a result of the severe lack of resources and overwhelming demand faced by the sector.
Call for 'ambitious targets'
The measures Homelessness Australia is calling for as part of the National Housing and Homelessness Plan include setting "ambitious targets and timelines for action" on the major drivers of homelessness; rental stress, domestic and family violence, and access to the support families need to thrive.
"It's a national shame that in a wealthy, developed country like Australia, we have tens of thousands of families and young people-many of whom are grappling with domestic violence-without a safe place to call home," said Kate Colvin.
"We urgently need a comprehensive national strategy to ensure that no Australian child ever experiences the trauma of homelessness. Our nation has the resources to solve this crisis. What we need now is the ambition to make it happen.
