A government-wide forum on youth homelessness will be held early next year to advance recommendations made at a NSW Liberal/Nationals Summit held in October, Shadow Minister for Youth Affairs Mike Baird said today.

“For too long homeless youth have languished in the too-hard basket, however now we have an assurance from the State Labor Government that action will be taken,” Mr Baird said.

“Yesterday I met with the Youth Minister Graham West, along with the facilitators from our Summit into Youth Homelessness, to urge for coordinated action to help homeless youth.

“We presented to the Minister a summary of recommendations made at our Summit, A Direction for Youth Homelessness, which was compiled with the input of 40 experts. 

“Every night in NSW 11,000 children do not have a home to sleep in and the situation has only got worse since a major inquiry was held 20 years ago.

“The Minister agreed to host a forum early next year that brings the whole of government together to give finding a solution to youth homelessness the priority it deserves.

“The forum will seek better ways to intervene early to prevent youth homelessness, respond quickly and help youth find pathways out, and it will be guided by young people with first-hand experience.

“Youth do not know how to navigate the bureaucracy. They are expected to access adult services that have not been designed for them.

“There needs to be far more coordination between government departments such as housing, health and community services so young people don’t have to tell their story again and again and risk getting lost in the system.

“It is not simply a matter of needing more funds. There is a recognition amongst service providers of what needs to change, however no mechanism to change it.

“The forum is a promising first step in making the changes needed to reduce the number of children that end up on the street or couch surfing because they have nowhere else to go.

“Youth homelessness is above politics. We’re pleased to be working with State Government to finally give this problem the attention it needs,” Mr Baird said.

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