Out-of-home-care as tough as homelessness for young people

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-09-10 03:00

Australia; VIC; QLD

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Young people living in out-of-home-care (OoHC) are at comparable or higher risk of serious mental health problems and drug use compared to homeless youth, according to an Australian study. Researchers surveyed about 300 young people who were either homeless, living with their parents or living in OoHC who were engaged with youth alcohol and drug services in Victoria and Queensland. They found while homeless youths were more likely to use methamphetamines daily, those in OoHC were more likely to have used any methamphetamines or heroin in the month leading up to the survey. The researchers say the risk of suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-harm respectively was 19.4 per cent and 48 per cent for OoHC youths, 21.5 per cent and 39.8 per cent for homeless youths and 15.2 per cent and 33.3 per cent for those living with their parents.