On the eve of Homeless Persons Awareness Week, Christian workers say violence at home is behind a surge in kids cast out on the street.
"There is an increase of domestic violence situations in families," says Stan Small, the coordinator of the Anglicare program, Street Outreach and a 14-year veteran of dealing with youth homelessness.
"More are being reported than used to be but I think we're still only scratching the tip of the iceberg.”
In the last year Street Outreach has dealt with 280 youth aged 12 to 25 in the Parramatta region who have nowhere to lay their heads.
"The majority we see have burnt their bridges pretty severely at home and have either left voluntarily or been turfed out by their parents," Mr Small says.
He describes a vicious cycle fuelled by poverty and poor education that locks them out of any opportunity for self-improvement.
"They live rough on their own or couch-surf with mates. They don’t have good hygiene and that makes it difficult for them to go to job interviews," Mr Small says.
"And their education may be poor which means they can’t fill out job interview forms."
Home’s only the beginning
Alongside their welfare and advocacy program, staff from Street Outreach run a weekly Bible study for teens and tweens living hard.
Mr Small says people would be surprised at the level of interest.
"They know it's a bible study and that they’ll hear the Bible explained," he says, speaking of the group that gathers each Thursday evening.
"The young people who come are very inquisitive spiritually and they want to know."
He says the goal is to show youth who find themselves pushed to the edge of society that God cares for them "as much as for anyone else in society'.
Homeless in Parramatta
Homeless Persons Awareness Week began as an off-shoot of a Sydney-wide effort, but now focuses almost exclusively on the Parramatta region.
The week will be launched tomorrow in Parramatta Mall, opposite St John's Anglican Cathedral.
Local welfare organisations like Parramatta Mission and community groups like local motorcycle clubs will be offering services and support throughout the week (see fact box for details).
“For most people [homelessness] doesn’t impact on them unless you have a personal contact with someone who’s run away," Mr Small says.
"I’d like to see a greater awareness of people who have become homeless for no fault of their own " who are victims of poor parenting " so that we can support people as part of our society rather than as outsiders."
