News

Young homeless mums can use a little support

[ The University of Melbourne Voice Vol. 1, No. 11  6 - 20 August 2007 ]

By Janine Sim-Jones

Becoming a mother is a turning point which inspires young homeless women to turn their lives around – but a lack of affordable housing and a lack of ongoing support are letting them down, says a new University of Melbourne report.

The report, Opportunity for Change: Young Motherhood and Homelessness, by Dr Deborah Keys, from the Key Centre for Women’s Health in Society, was launched recently at a forum hosted by the Council to Homeless Persons.

Dr Keys’ report documents the experiences of 24 homeless women in Melbourne aged 17 to 25.

It found that becoming pregnant or having a baby encouraged many disadvantaged young women to make positive changes in their lives – such as giving up drugs, becoming more responsible, ending unsuitable friendships and persevering in their attempts to secure stable accommodation.

“Many young women, who were previously suicidal and held little hope for the future, now felt they had a reason to live, experienced increased levels of self-esteem and hoped to build a better future for their children,” Dr Keys said.

“Becoming a mother is a significant turning point which has the potential to drive many positive ­changes for young homeless women.

“It’s an ideal time to intervene and maximise their chances of succeeding at motherhood.”

Dr Keys said while she was not advocating that motherhood was a solution to homelessness, it had been a positive influence for many of the young women.

“While half of the women said that their lives were harder now they were mothers, nearly all said that they were also better,” Dr Keys said.

However, a shortage of appropriate crisis accommodation and affordable housing and a lack of ongoing support made it difficult to make a successful transition to motherhood.

She said there was a need for more crisis accommodation funded to provide a tailored response to young mothers and their children and well-located, secure public housing.

A lack of appropriate crisis accommodation meant young mothers were often sent to one-room motels where they felt unsafe and had nowhere to cook or allow their children to play, while waiting for a place in medium-term accommodation.

Dr Keys said providing longer-term, outreach services to women once they left crisis accommodation was also essential.

She said this would help the many women who were without family support, particularly those who had come from abusive backgrounds and did not have any positive role models on how to parent.

It would also help them avoid relapsing into alcohol or drug abuse, she said.

“We need a homelessness services sector which helps these young women become the mothers they want to be,” she said.

Yenny, mother of Jet, 2, and Diesel, 1, addressed the launch of Dr Keys’ report.

She said Dr Keys’ research had given a voice to many young women who were often looked down upon and misunderstood by society.

Dr Keys’ research was funded by the Telstra Foundation and the Office of Housing.