Homeless youth is Sutherland Shire’s unseen problem

“People in the shire may not be aware of the extent of the problem,” Sutherland Shire Salvation Army church leader Mark Soper said.

“It is an issue with kids with disfunctional homes. They don’t have a place to rest their head and so couch surf.

“It’s an unidentified problem in the shire. I’ve worked in Darlinghurst, Kings Cross and Surry Hills and seen the problem there.

“In the shire they have a roof over their head but not a supportive network.

“They move from couch to couch and can’t or won’t go home. Soon they out wear their welcome and then they can end up in the city. This is what we are trying to avoid.”

Teenagers and young adults in Sutherland Shire  are being urged to take part in the Salvation Army initiative to tackle the problem of youth homelessness called the Couch Project.

Figures show that more than 42 per cent of Australia’s homeless community are young people under the age  of 25.

This means more than 44,000 people aged 0 to 24 are homeless, according to figures contained in the 2011 Census.

This also showed there were 325 homeless in the Sutherland Shire region but the number of young homeless could have been much more and difficult to calculate if they had been “couch surfing” at a friend’s house.

The top cause of homelessness are family violence and family breakdown.

Figures also show that “couch surfing” is on the rise. Just three per cent of young Australians experiencing homelessness sleep on the street. Many take refuge on a couch or in a car.

The figures are harder to define in Sutherland Shire and St George because so many homeless young move from place to place, according to the Salvation Army Hurstville Corps Major Peter White.

“There’s a homeless problem so we assume there is a youth homeless problem as well,” Mr White said.

“It’s really hard to document because young people jump from couch to couch.

“We are asking people to spend the night on their couch and raise money to help the Salvos’ Youth Services,” he said.

The official date of the sleepover fundraiser is Friday, September 16.

But people taking part can do so any time between now and the end of October.

The Couch project is for high school and primary school students, as well as adults, and aims to raise $120,000 to support the work of the Salvation Army youth programs.

People involved in the project can have a say where there money goes. There will be a wide range of centres listed for them to choose from to raise money for.

Once people are involved in the initiative,they set up a personalised fundraising page and start promoting their sleepover.

To find out more information, go to thecouchproject.com.au.