Beyond the Crisis-Response: Preventing Young Australian Women’s Pathways into Homelessness

By Hannah Rutherford, RMIT University, CSW, 2022

Hannah is studying a Bachelor of Environment and Society, Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University. Her policy paper focuses on Beyond the Crisis-Response: Preventing Young Australian Women’s Pathways into Homelessness.

Executive Summary

A complex mix of personal and structural preconditions are causing young Australian women to enter homelessness at a concerning rate. Recent Australian research into early-intervention methods has shown promising outcomes in addressing this issue. Despite the international attention of these positive results, Australia’s dominant crisis-oriented model remains. Academics and social-service practitioners alike call for greater collaboration between secondary schools and youth services, to effectively deliver best-practice supports to vulnerable young women before they reach a crisis point. As such, this paper recommends a creative integration of existing youth organisations and programs, with the aim to pilot a hybrid mentorship with young women involved in YMCA Victoria’s youth services.

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