Where we unpack the latest ideas, issues and decisions that are affecting the lives of young people in SA.
This year, International Women’s Day fell in the wake of multiple sexual assault allegations arising from our Nation’s capital. Brittany Higgins coming forward and then the historical allegation against Attorney General Christian Porter, culminated to put a focus on sexual violence against women in Australian media and political sphere.
Yesterday the state government moved to take action against period poverty by making free pads and tampons available in all South Australian schools, allocating $450,000 worth of funding.
Each public school will receive a grant for sanitary products this school term based on the number of female students they have enrolled.
We asked young people to tell us how they’re going with the COVID-19 restrictions and here’s what we heard:
Young people are experiencing increased stress and anxiety about job losses and they’re worried about how they or their family will pay rent and utilities. They are also worried about how they will buy food, medications and other necessities.
Young people are reporting increased feelings of isolation and anxiety as a result of COVID-19 and are concerned about their own and others mental health & wellbeing. They’re worried about vulnerable family members contracting the virus.
Young people are anxious about online education and aren’t getting the support they need to navigate the transition. They’re worried about falling behind in their studies.
Not all young people have access to tech or data and online and phone support/services don’t work for everyone, so some aren’t getting the support they need.
We also asked what they would like to say to decisions makers:
Young people want the government and educational institutions to make sure no-one is left behind or made worse off by COVID-19.
Young people want to know what governments are planning to do to address unemployment and what financial supports and protections will be put in place to ensure they and the wider community avoid increased disadvantage.
We’ve shared this info with the state government and asked what they’re going to do to make sure young people receive the support and services they need during the pandemic and beyond.
We’ll provide updates here about their response but in the meantime, if you haven’t already completed our survey, we’d like to hear from you! Take the survey here.
28,000 young people in Australia are homeless on any given night.
There has been a 26% rise in youth homelessness over the last 10 years.
These numbers are expected to rise due to COVID-19.
Today (April 15 2020) is Youth Homelessness Matters Day (YHMD). The campaign is hosted by the National Youth Coalition for Housing (NYCH) and aims to raise awareness of the impact of homelessness on young people among decision makers and the wider community.
Young people experiencing homelessness have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Federal and state governments must take action to support this highly vulnerable group.
