Our Specialist Homelessness services
Youturn Specialist Homelessness Service provides short term accommodation and housing assistance which is used to support young people, young families and/or couples aged 16-25 through their crisis housing situation as they move towards independent living. Intervention support, through regular contact and referral, both pre and post exit ensures that young people are assisted to gain and sustain appropriate accommodation.
We aim to reduce the number of young people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless by providing:
TEWANTIN
Specialist Homelessness Service Tewantin provides temporary supported accommodation and support for young people, single parents and or couples 16-25 years old. The focus is developing clients independent living skills and to facilitate a transition from temporary to permanent housing.
CALOUNDRA
Specialist Homelessness Service Caloundra provides short term accommodation assistance which is used to support young people, single parents and/or couples aged 16-25 through their crisis housing situation as they move towards independent living.
TOOWOOMBA
Specialist Homelessness Service Toowoomba is provided at Gateway House – a purpose-built immediate supported accommodation property for young people aged 16 – 25 years can be accommodated.
Growing up in Toowoomba for Nakita, she experienced some really difficult times. She reflected on her own childhood trauma and challenges saying “no young person should ever have to live through this.” As a teenager Nakita made the decision to move to the Sunshine Coast, but things went from bad to worse when she started using drugs and became dependent on ice. Nakita soon found herself homeless, couch surfing and sleeping rough.
Through Nakita’s struggles with drug dependency she was eventually arrested and incarcerated in 2019 for 2 months. Whilst in prison, she discovered that she was pregnant. Nakita says it was finding out that she was pregnant that gave her the determination and hope of becoming a good parent and raising her child, free from drugs – “All I wanted was to give my child the best start in life I possibly could.”
Prior to coming into our program Nakita and her baby Kharma were being supported in accommodation specifically for young mothers with children under school age. She was desperate to “secure my own accommodation where I could start making a home for myself and Kharma.” However, with a limited tenancy history and financial stress Nakita struggled to find accommodation.
Nakita reached out to our Youturn program and she has now been in our supported accommodation for 4 weeks with Kharma who is 5 months old. Nikita is looking forward to securing her own private rental on the Sunshine coast and she is dedicated to saving to buy house-hold items, so she can make a home for herself and her daughter.
