Dispelling myths
Youth Homelessness Matters Day is coming up on Wednesday, April 13.
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In order to get people in the community to support the cause it is important to make them understand the issue so that they can empathise with young homeless people and take action.
The first step to achieving this is to break down some of the most common myths about youth homelessness:
Myth 1: Homeless young people choose to live a life on the streets.
Fact 1: The most common cause of youth homelessness (and homelessness in general) is domestic and family violence, with 70 per cent of young homeless people leaving home to escape family violence, child abuse or family breakdown.
Myth 2: All homeless young people are mentally ill or substance abusers.
Fact 2: Only a quarter of homeless people are mentally ill, and about 40 per cent are alcohol or substance abusers, with around 15 per cent suffering both disabilities. Those who are faced with mental illness or who suffer from substance abuse are often dealing with complex family issues or abuse and face added stresses experienced while living on the streets.
Myth 3: Young homeless people are all criminals.
Fact 3: Most young homeless people are not criminals, and – according to the National Law Centre On Homelessness and Poverty – homeless people actually commit less violent crimes than housed people. This is a troubling misconception because it creates an unreasonable fear of young homeless people, making it harder to provide them with the help they need.
Breaking down these misconceptions will bring us one step closer to fixing the issue.
This Youth Homelessness Matter Day, I encourage everyone to sympathise with young homeless people and get involved in your community, host an event, run a campaign or make a donation to help young homeless people out of poverty and back into society.
Father Chris Riley
CEO and Founder at Youth Off The Streets
Better use of bucks
At a time of justifiable public interest and concern about the effectiveness of public spending, Australian Red Cross is launching a report calling on a new way to do justice – a way that redirects finite taxpayers’ funds into a more effective and humane system.
Known as justice reinvestment, at its heart is a system that channels some of the funds spent on imprisonment into crime prevention and community safety.
It’s more effective, more humane and it works.
The report highlights the growing costs (currently approximately $3.5 billion a year) and inhumane effects of the climbing imprisonment rates in a time of falling or steady crime rates. It also highlights the failure of current approaches to address the underlying causes of crime or make communities safer.
We are calling for State and Territory Governments to adopt five recommendations to improve the criminal justice system in Australia, in line with the justice reinvestment approach to achieve lower incarceration rates, reduced prison costs and stronger, safer communities. We also recommend that all governments commit to a significant reduction in the appallingly high incarceration rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It’s not a question of being hard or soft on crime; rather it’s being smart on crime.
Please read the report at www.redcross.org.au/justicereinvest and talk to your local elected representatives if you agree we can no longer afford to ignore this issue.
Jodi Broun
Australian Red Cross, NSW