Housing and Homelessness

Project Youth's staged housing system:

There are many reasons young people can no longer stay in their own home. Two of the main reasons are family violence and family breakdown. Young people also become homeless as they are fleeing sexual, physical and emotional abuse or neglect, or their parents are struggling with addiction, crime or mental ill health. In some circumstances young people can be supported to return to their family home with the right provisions and resources in place, however this is not always possible and they need a safe alternative.


Are you a young person struggling or having a hard time at home? Are you sleeping on your friend’s couch? Is there violence or emotional abuse happening at home? Are your parents constantly fighting or are you or someone else in your home being abused? Do you need a safe place to live? Do you need someone to talk to about your situation?


MAKE A REFERRAL CRISIS REFUGE         MAKE A REFERRAL TRANSITIONAL HOUSING


You are not safe if:

You do not have a stable, permanent place to live

You are being emotionally and/or physically hurt by someone you live with

Someone you live with is making unwanted sexual advances towards you

Someone you live with is constantly shouting at you and/or calls you abusive names

The people you are living with are often affected by drugs/alcohol which makes their behaviour difficult or upsetting to live with

Your housing is unsuitable if:

Where you live is overcrowded and you do not have a space to call your own

You have to sleep on the couch and don’t have your own bed

You are staying at a different person’s house each night and have nowhere permanent to sleep

Someone you live with has a mental health condition that makes your life stressful

You feel unhappy or unsafe at home a lot of the time for any reason

Your mental health makes it difficult for you to live at home

Project Youth are here to help you.

Project Youth provides housing and support to young people currently experiencing homelessness. Our housing options all provide individualised support plans that are created with the young person based on their hopes, goals and strengths. Our programs are designed to support young people with living skills and increase their capacity to live independently. Housing Support Workers assist young people to establish a plan to transition to their place of choice and will walk alongside young people through every step.


We also advocate for the local government to do more to help homeless young people, envisaging a future where youth homelessness does not exist.


Project Youth have 76 beds across Sutherland Shire and George's River. We have two crisis refuges, as well as Transitional Housing. The different phases of Project Youth’s housing system is designed to support young people to achieving full independence. 

Housing and Homelessness - Sutherland Shire Youth

Jennifer's Story

By Trina Johnson • November 4, 2019
Jennifer grew up in an abusive household. As a teenager, she faced the difficult choice to become homeless, rather than remain at risk in her family home. Can you imagine becoming fully independent at such a young age? Can you imagine feeling terrified about what the future holds, and the prospect of facing it alone? We asked Jennifer to share her story with you. She answered the following questions to describe her experience with homelessness: How did you feel when you faced homelessness? “There were a lot of mixed emotions around making the decision to leave home, but I vividly remember feeling a lot of guilt and fear for what was to ensue. I kept thinking if I should have persevered and continued living in that environment. I was riddled with a lot of questions for the unknown.” What was life like at Project Youth’s crisis refuge, The Bridge? “Life at the Bridge allowed me to feel safe. It is the place where I learnt my self-worth and capabilities. It is the foundation that gave me the chance to break the cycle of abuse I witnessed growing up. It gave me the chance to be okay with not feeling okay. It is the foundation that allowed me to seek support for mental health and to learn the importance of self-care.” What happened when you left the Bridge? “The Bridge helped me build the living skills to transition to a medium term service. The staff at the Bridge were very supportive and helped choose the best medium term service that was the best fit for me. At first, I was very reluctant to leave as I had finally settled down into a place, however I was still very excited.” Where are you now, and how do you feel about your achievements? “I’m now working in a career that I have always had an interest in and enjoy. I am also living in private rental. Looking back from where I started, this path wasn’t easy to take and it still isn’t the perfect road but it is a continuous learning process that I am grateful for. I admit that I still struggle with mental health amongst other things but what this path has taught me is that having a group of supportive people and a ‘sense of being’ helps tenfold compared to when I had nothing. I hope for a day that the stigma that is associated with being homelessness is withdrawn, as it will help those in need of a safe place some reassurance in the right direction. It will also help communities and organisations come together to support those in need, a cause that is affecting people globally.” Do you have any advice for young people facing homelessness? “You’re brave for wanting to better yourself and that in itself is becoming a better you.” You can save a young person from growing up in a dangerous household. You can give a young person a safe roof over their head. You can walk side by side with a young person as they find their independence. You can change a young person’s life for the better. Donate today to help another young person like Jennifer.