COUCHES FOR A CAUSE
Youth homelessness remains a significant issue across Australia, with thousands of young people experiencing housing instability every night.
WORDS BROOKE GIBBS
IMAGES TYMUNNA CLEMENTS
OVER 3,000 YOUNG people aged 12-25 years are homeless on any given night in the NT (ABS, 2021). That’s almost 12 times the national average. In the NT, this challenge is intensified by housing instability, domestic and family violence, mental health challenges, and family breakdowns.
For many young people, homelessness doesn’t always mean sleeping on the streets. Instead, it often looks like moving between friends’ houses, staying temporarily with relatives, or relying on short-term arrangements just to get through the week. This experience, commonly known as couch surfing, can leave young people without stability, safety or long-term support.
A 20-year-old Aboriginal Larrakia man and father of three, who we’ll refer to as Jeff as he wishes to remain anonymous, said he never had housing stability growing up.
“As a teenager, I never really felt the joy of having my own bedroom or my own house,” he says.
“I was constantly living with my family and moved to Darwin to live with my grandfather. I then lived with siblings but didn’t have the best relationship with them and didn’t really feel I had a permanent roof over my head.”
This event brings this issue into the spotlight while connecting young people with services and support within the community. The day combines awareness with community action, encouraging people to learn more about youth homelessness while taking part in a range of engaging activities.
“I felt like I would be like my family – jobless and living on Centrelink, and that took a toll on my confidence. Because of the environment around me, I thought I wouldn’t get a good job and that I would be living off Centrelink,” Jeff says.
Through connecting with these services, Jeff was able to enter secure accommodation, received help with his tax return, and was able to build his confidence up.
One of the standout features of the event is the couch racing, where teams compete using creatively decorated couches in a race through the park. The event also includes stalls, music, information booths, and family-friendly activities.
While the atmosphere is lively, the event carries an important message. By bringing the community together in a fun and welcoming environment, organisers hope to spark conversations about the challenges many young people face when they don’t have a stable place to live.
Jeff says his hope for the future is to be stable and better than he was yesterday.
“I want to let the person reading this know you can be the one to break the cycle. If you don’t have the confidence, you’ll find it. You just have to be consistent and know you’ll see better days, even when things get hard.”
Couch Surfing
WHEN WED 15 APR | 10AM-2PM
AT CIVIC PARK
COST FREE
INFO anglicare-nt.org.au
