The Territory’s Safe and Connected Youth pilot program has successfully reduced the risk of homelessness for all participating young people, according to an evaluation carried out by the Youth Coalition of the ACT.
Minister for Families and Community Services, Rachel Stephen-Smith said the Pilot, launched October 2019, delivered an outreach program to support children and young people aged eight to 15 years.
“The Program provides therapeutic case management support, family mediation and limited short-term respite care to support de-escalation of family conflict and effective mediation,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.
“The report shows that many of the young people involved were able to return home safely. In these cases, the Program successfully increased understanding of family dynamics and improved communication in the home,” she said.
“In the cases where a young person was not able to return home, the Program was able to steer them away from homelessness through the strategic use of respite accommodation or making alternative arrangements for the young person.”
Ms Stephen-Smith said the Pilot was a collaboration between the ACT Government; Youth Coalition of the ACT; Woden Community Services; Northside Community Services; Conflict Resolution Service; Marymead; and the Rotary Club of Canberra.
“We know that children and young people in the middle years can face challenges that lead to a risk of homelessness or coming into contact with statutory child and youth protection or youth justice systems,” the Minister said.
“The Evaluation Report shows this project has delivered strong outcomes for young people and their families – including reducing the risk of homelessness and improving access to services, which are more integrated and coordinated and increasing family communication,” she said.
The Youth Coalition of the ACT’s 50-page Evaluation Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
