Youth homelessness has hit an all-time high as the latest data from charity Mission Australia has found at least one in 30 young Victorians had experienced homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It also revealed, from 2020-2021, twice as many women and girls compared to men and boys had experienced homelessness.
Roxanne is a 27-year-old from Ballarat who can attest to this startling figure having been displaced from her home on multiple occasions including during Victoria's lockdown period in 2020.
Her story is one plagued with domestic abuse, housing insecurity and mental illness.
Having grown up in the foster care system Roxanne never felt entirely safe at the homes she stayed at except for one.
However, due to her rebellious nature in her youth, Roxanne moved out of the foster care system at the first chance she had when she was 18.
At this age up until she was 19, Roxanne struggled to find stable housing and instead managed through alternating between couch surfing with friends and staying at motels.
RELATED:
Shortly after, when Roxanne was about 20, she met her former partner who she moved in with.
She ended up staying with him for about five years until her living situation with him and their daughter, Mia - who she gave birth to in 2019 - took a turn for the worst.
Roxanne said her transition from having a home to becoming homeless for a second time all began when she returned from a party one night.
"My ex-partner was looking after our daughter while I was out and when I came back home he was playing music quite loudly so I asked him nicely to turn it down and when I asked him to do that he started to become very abusive," she said.
"He started coming at me, he pinned me down and then he started biting my arms.
"I took out my phone and tried to record what he was doing to me so I could show the police afterwards but he ended up getting my phone off me once he bit my arm."
Roxanne said the whole situation had left her in state of shock as she feared for the safety of her own and her daughter's life.
"I was afraid that I might be murdered," she said.
In February 2020, Roxanne's former partner pleaded guilty to unlawful assault.
He was arrested and served four days in prison before being convicted and sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order.
IN THE NEWS:
While Roxanne found it challenging to remember the incident with her former partner and how she responded next, she said she ended up leaving him and their house.
"Bits and pieces of what happened are foggy to me and I now suffer from depression, anxiety and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) but I think I stayed with his mother for a few days and then I moved onto staying in a caravan for the next few days before I went to Uniting Ballarat for help," she said.
In 2020, Uniting Ballarat assisted Roxanne and her daughter with temporary housing.
Roxanne stayed at the Alfred Motor Inn for several nights and then the Woodmans Hill Motel.
She didn't intend to stay at the Woodmans Hill Motel for long however; due to the lockdown restrictions at the time she ended up being confined to the motel for the next eight months.
"I was struggling to look after my daughter all on my own being stuck in the motel," she said.
In early 2021, Roxanne finally had a place to call her own when Uniting Ballarat offered her a three-bedroom unit in Ballarat's southern suburbs for her and her daughter to live in.
While Roxanne has had her rent significantly reduced due to it being subsidised through public housing assistance she said was grateful to finally have a roof over her and her daughter's head.
MORE PUBLIC HOUSING NEEDED
The latest data from Uniting Ballarat has only added to Victoria's youth homelessness crisis as it found 57 Ballarat households of occupants aged 17-25 were still without permanent housing.
Uniting Ballarat homelessness senior manager Adam Liversage said youth homelessness in Ballarat was "a real problem".
"There has actually has been an increase in youth homelessness in Ballarat which is really concerning and given the current climate and the fact that it's winter in Ballarat as well it's not a very nice place to be homeless at this time of year," Mr Liversage said.
Roxanne said the government needed to provide more funding to welfare organisations, including Uniting Ballarat, to help reduce homelessness numbers.
"Whether someone is 60, 30, 20 or 19, everyone deserves a chance and I think that the government needs to step up and help services like Vinnies and Uniting by giving them more money to help people that are experiencing homelessness because these organisations have changed my life," she said.
HOW YOU CAN HELP BALLARAT'S HOMELESSNESS SITUATION
Next week marks the start of National Homelessness Week, which will run from August 1-7.
As part of the week Uniting Ballarat will be running several events including an art show which will exhibit pieces from those who have experienced homelessness as well as a free 'business leaders breakfast' which will explore how members of the community can make a difference to homelessness at any level.
"This year, we've got a real focus on consumer voice and consumer participation. So the best thing about homelessness week is we are actually getting to see and hear those stories from the consumer and their perspective and what it's like to be homeless rather than Uniting (Ballarat) telling the community what homelessness is," Mr Liversage said.
Uniting Ballarat's 'Homelessness Week Art Show & Exhibition' will be held from August 1-5 from 10am-4pm at Trades Hall Ballarat.
Their 'Business Leaders Breakfast' will be held on August 3 at Uniting Breezeway Café at 105 Dana Street.
To find out more about Uniting Ballarat's National Homelessness Week events, call 5332 1286.
Now just one tap with our new app. Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Courier. See how to download it below: