Young people are being forced to sleep in cars, couch surf or even return to dangerous living conditions as the region's housing crisis deepens.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Yes Unlimited's CEO Di Glover hasn't seen anything like it in 20 years with Albury's youth refuge full and a waiting list for young people in crisis.
In just the last month the Murray region has seen a 3.9 per cent increase in youth homelessness and an 11.6 per cent increase in the past 12 months.
"We're currently working with 52 young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness," Ms Glover says.
Wodonga's Junction Support Services youth services manager Rhianna Jones says their service has seen "absolutely huge numbers, especially post-COVID and beyond".
"I think it's indicative of the overall service system and not just us; the demand for homelessness support absolutely outweighs the resources," she says.
"It's incredibly hard for our clients to access safe and sustainable housing.
"We've got a large number of young people coming through who are openly telling us that they're either coach surfing or sleeping in their cars, or they're in overcrowded dwellings.
"There's just a real sense of helplessness about their current situation and the future."
Discussions at recent monthly headspace consortium meetings have turned increasingly grim, chair Stuart Baker admits.
"All agencies are raising concerns about lack of available housing and the impact that's having on people's mental health and ability to work," Mr Baker says.
"We're hearing everywhere there are jobs but there's nowhere to live.
"It's impacting at all levels and across all agencies because the physical lack of housing has flow-on effects for mental health."
Ms Glover says that some people were applying for 50 to 60 properties and still making no headway.
And lack of housing in general has meant more people were opting for the type of housing people on Youth Allowance or JobSeeker could afford.
In December last year, just four properties of the 77,000 listed across Australia were affordable for someone on Youth Allowance, she says.
"Young people are essentially all competing with each other for the same affordable properties at any given time," Ms Glover says.
Yes Unlimited is urging the community to support the Everybody's Home Campaign because what happens to one of us, affects all of us.
It says the solutions lie with: support for first home buyers; a national housing strategy, a better deal for renters, immediate relief for those in chronic rental stress, and a plan to end homelessness by 2030.
- everybodyshome.com.au