The real costs of homelessness for young people

The impact homelessness has on the lives of young people has been the subject of a number of studies in Australia. Perhaps the best known is the Project i study, which was based on a longitudinal survey covering the health and social circumstances of young people experiencing homelessness in Melbourne (for example, Rosenthal et al, 2008, Rosenthal et al, 2007). The Project i study results revealed and reinforced the importance of including a broad range of health and lifestyle factors into any attempt to comprehensively document the often complex and precarious lives of young people experiencing homelessness. For example, significant proportions have mental health issues, engage in illicit substance use and associated high-risk behaviours, and experience violence (including sexual violence and violence in the family home) in comparison to their home-based peers.