FEDERAL member for Page Kevin Hogan said the future of two important services that keep young people on the North Coast from becoming homeless was now secured.
“These services where under threat because their funding agreement was due to end on June 30 and nothing had been put in place for them in the previous budget for them to continue,” he said. “When I discovered this I went into bat for these local services to ensure funds were found.”
Government announced on Monday it would provide $115 million for 180 critical homelessness services whose funding agreement was due to end on June 30.
The two North Coast services to receive funding are Switch (Northern Rivers Social Development Council) which runs Young People Leaving Care Support Services which provides support to young people aged between 16 and 18 years, who are leaving or have left home care; and one operated by YP Space on the mid-North Coast that assists young people leaving the juvenile justice system.
Both services offer services for young people from Taree to the Queensland border.
Minister for Social Services Kevin Andrews said the funding would reinstate the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness funding for another year, providing much needed certainty for homelessness services.
“On any given night, more than 105,000 Australians are homeless, so it’s important for the Government to provide assurance to the services supporting these people,” Mr Andrews said.
“The dedicated people running these services provide critical support to help vulnerable Australians get their lives back together, as well as find affordable and sustainable housing.
