00:02It doesn't look like much from the outside, but Kaya says when she ended up homeless aged 13, this hub
00:09was a lifeline.
00:10When you're on the streets you smell, you don't get to access showers, you don't have a home to go
00:15back to, so just being able to smell good, feel good is an important part.
00:20Passages provides the basic for children and young people as young as 12, like food, showers and washing machines, as
00:28well as connections to other services.
00:31They can come in under the influence of alcohol and other drugs, emotionally dysregulated, in crisis because they're experiencing homelessness
00:37and hardship, and we meet them where they're at.
00:39It's so hard to access services when you don't have that foundation from the beginning.
00:45There are just two Passages hubs in Perth which helped 750 young people last year.
00:52Usually the things that led to them being homeless, we can fix them as well or work on them or
00:58support them with it, but doing it from a place of rough sleeping is extremely difficult.
01:03And that's only becoming more challenging. Data from the sector showing on one night this month there were just three
01:10beds available for 73 young rough sleepers.
01:14At night when you're going to sleep, it's like, where are they now? Is it remotely possible for them to
01:18be safe? And no is the answer. So that's tough.
01:23In addition to more crisis beds, service providers are lobbying government for more hubs like Passages to provide early intervention.
01:31A call backed by youth homelessness researcher Catherine Robinson because of what they can provide.
01:37Really good relationship building and trust building with children and young people. Ultimately that's what is the gateway to them
01:45being able to access services and get the care that they need.
01:48Homelessness Minister Matthew Swinburne told the ABC he's taking the issue seriously, highlighting $25 million in last year's state budget
01:57for youth accommodation and support services.
02:00He says he'll continue working with service providers though to address their concerns.
02:04Kaya is now part of the youth homelessness advisory committee and hopes the government will help more young people get
02:11the help she received.
02:12I wouldn't know where I would be if I didn't have somewhere to go and have a shower or somewhere
02:17to feel safe.
02:18Like, it is a fundamental thing for them to build themselves up.
02:24If they don't have that, then what else is there going to be?
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