Organisations behind Great Southern Youth Foyer push ‘extremely hopeful’ Federal funding will be forthcoming

The push to establish a youth foyer in Albany for youth at risk of homelessness was taken to Canberra this week by representatives of the Foyer Foundation who met with Federal politicians. Representatives of the foundation and the Foyer Invest Consortium, a group of community-sector organisations, are seeking support to expand the network of youth foyers throughout the country. Youth foyers offer stable accommodation to young people at risk of homelessness for up to two years, according to the Foyer Foundation website. The group is asking for funding to establish 10 new youth foyers, including one in Albany, to address Australia’s growing youth homelessness crisis. Foyer Foundation chief executive Liz Cameron-Smith said young people are experiencing high rates of homelessness “contrary to common perceptions”. “Now is the time for action and investment in practical housing solutions that will make an immediate impact on housing supply for young people,” she said. About half of those experiencing homelessness in Albany are aged 10 to 30, according to data collected in December last year at an Albany Homelessness Connection Event. Albany Youth Support Association and Advance Housing have led the push to establish a foyer in Albany during the last 18 months. A business case prepared by the Brotherhood of St Laurence for AYSA in consultation with AH estimated costs of $20-30m for a 60-unit project — 10 units for short-term crisis accommodation and 50 for transitional housing. Last year, the City of Albany council gave in-principle support to disposing of two lots of land for the project’s development if the required capital could be secured within three years. AH chief executive John Lysaught said the business case and the city’s “generous land commitment . . . demonstrates a tangible local commitment to the project”. He also said project partners were exploring every possible funding option and AH was “extremely hopeful” that forthcoming Federal funding would help, though noted this would take time given the size of the project. A key partner for AYSA and AH, the Foyer Foundation’s effort to raise the profile of the foyer approach at the national level was “encouraging”, Mr Lysaught said. “Hopefully, this translates to a genuine commitment from the Australian Government to assisting in funding the initiative through a capital grant,” he said. WA’s only youth foyer, Foyer Oxford in Leederville, recently celebrated 10 years of providing holistic support to about 800 young people at risk of, or experiencing homelessness, according to Anglicare WA, which operates the facility.