Young and Homeless: Caritas Calls for Nationwide Strategy
Many adolescents and young adults are affected by homelessness, yet there is little information about this group. In Vienna, about one-third of all homeless people are under 30 years old, approximately 5,000 individuals, but nationwide surveys are lacking, criticizes Caritas, calling for a nationwide comprehensive strategy for young homeless people and uniform standards in child and youth welfare across Austria.
Caritas Vienna Director Schwertner: "Youth Homelessness is Often Invisible"
"Youth homelessness is often invisible," said Caritas Vienna Director Klaus Schwertner on Tuesday at a press conference at the youth emergency shelter a_way in Vienna. Many would stay with friends and acquaintances for a long time and try to keep their homelessness a secret for as long as possible. To better target support services, regular nationwide data collection on the target group is needed.
Homelessness: Violence in the Family Most Common Reason
One of the most common reasons for homelessness is violence in the family, reports Tom Adrian, head of the only emergency shelter for adolescents. Typical breaking points for the youth are the age of 15.5 years after the end of compulsory schooling and reaching adulthood. An analysis by Caritas from data from the youth emergency shelter a_way and the residential home for young adults shows that three-quarters (76 percent) of the adolescents and young adults who have come to the facilities so far have broken contact with their families.
This shows that many young people are completely on their own, says Adrian. Additionally, they have already been through a lot: Half have already been in contact with child and youth welfare services, and about one-third have already spent the night on the street or in an emergency shelter. This experience is often traumatizing.
Early Support for Adolescents Important
It is important to support adolescents as early as possible because the more biographical disruptions they have already experienced, the more difficult it will be for them later to establish themselves in stable living conditions, said Maresi Kienzer, head of the JUCA residential home. If the young people have already experienced eviction, the likelihood of living precariously after moving out increases by 89 percent. And a night on the street or in an emergency shelter reduces the chance of a secure home after moving out by 58 percent.
Therefore, Caritas calls for more specific offers for young homeless people as well as uniform standards in the field of child and youth welfare across Austria. This also requires more resources and a special focus on supporting so-called care leavers - those young people who lose their previous entitlement to child and youth welfare upon reaching adulthood. The legal entitlement to support should be extended to the age of 24, demands Schwertner. Additionally, more affordable housing is needed, and in the course of the planned reform of social assistance, a needs-based minimum security that protects against poverty must be ensured.
(APA/Red)
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