Call for youth foyer to help tackle homelessness in the NT

The Northern Territory has significantly higher rates of homelessness and overcrowding than other jurisdictions. (ABC News: Xavier Martin)

The peak national body advocating for better housing outcomes for low-income Australians says a youth foyer should be part of the discussion in Central Australia.

The Northern Territory has significantly higher rates of homelessness and overcrowding than other jurisdictions, with children and young people representing almost 50 per cent of the NT's homeless population.

Advocates say youth foyers have been successful in other locations and hope to see the model replicated in the Northern Territory.

Youth homelessness rates remain stubbornly high in Central Australia and advocates are renewing calls for a transitional housing model for young people to be established to tackle the issue.

The NT has the highest rates of homelessness in Australia, with 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census data revealing children and young people, aged under 24, represented almost 50 per cent of the NT's homeless population.

Annie Taylor, chief executive of the NT's peak housing and homelessness body, NT Shelter, said that since a 2023 report highlighted the disproportionate levels of youth homelessness in Alice Springs the case for a youth foyer had only strengthened.

Annie Taylor says a youth foyer is desperately needed in Central Australia. (ABC News: Pete Garnish)

Youth foyers are housing and support facilities for vulnerable people aged 16 to 24 that provide a safe and stable place to live for up to two years.

They allow young people to access wraparound support while they study or search for work.

The Shepparton Education First Youth Foyer opened in 2016. (Supplied: Anita McCurdy)

"The gap is still there and a foyer is a really practical way to start closing that gap and changing things," Ms Taylor said.

"Youth foyers work and, across Australia, they've seen over 80 per cent of young people exiting foyers into safe and stable accommodation.

"Most of those young people are going into the private market, which is that redirection we need, because the NT doesn't have the social housing to continue to support the amount of people who need social housing."

A 2023 NT Shelter report found links between homelessness and crime. (ABC News: Shaun Kingma)

Severe overcrowding remains a key driver of youth homelessness in Central Australia, with homeless young people at more risk of becoming involved in the criminal justice system.

A new report has been released looking at youth homelessness in Alice Springs.

Ms Taylor said