By Alice Hennessy, MercyCare Marketing & Communications Co-Ordinator
Adrian Do Santos had hit a dead end.
At loggerheads with his parents in the midst of Year 12 studies, the 18 year old was sinking under the pressure of their expectations for his crucial final school year and the strain had spilled into every aspect of his life.
“The tension with my parents had really started to affect me and my schoolwork,” he said. “In the end, I had enough so I left.
“I basically ran away and was staying at a friend’s house when I told my school that I was no longer living at home. They put me in touch with MercyCare Reconnect.”
Adrian was one of the 220 young people helped last year by MercyCare Reconnect – an early intervention outreach support service for young people aged between 12 and 18 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
In the past five years alone, more than 1,000 youths and their families have been helped by MercyCare Reconnect, with many interventions resulting in family reconciliations and more stable living arrangements.
The program works with families to keep young people living at home, reduce parent-teen conflict, improve school attendance and engage young people in their community.
It comes amid estimates by the National Youth Coalition for Housing that, on any night in Australia, 26,000 people under the age of 25 are homeless.
MercyCare Reconnect coordinator Lisa Brown said young people and their families were referred to Reconnect for a variety of reasons, including to repair parent-child relationships, drug and alcohol issues, mental health, truancy, bullying and social media addiction. Parenting skills and strategies are also offered.
“Most young people don’t choose to be homeless,” Ms Brown said. “Many see it as a last resort and an escape because they can see no way out of their problems.
“At times, there can be conflict in the home because of rules and expectations while, at other times, the conflict or issues are outside the young person’s control.
“Conflict in the home affects a broad cross-section of the community. It doesn’t just affect those in low socio-economic areas, but also extends to wealthy families and parents who work professional jobs. No family is immune.”
Ms Brown said a greater number of younger clients – some just 12 years old – were using the service compared to a decade ago.
“Ten years ago, 15 was the average age of young people who were at risk of homelessness,” she said. “Now, we are working with more young people aged 12 and 13.”
MercyCare Reconnect has been operating for 18 years in Perth and helps families across the metropolitan area from Two Rocks to Rockingham and Armadale to Morley.
Ms Brown said case workers were closely linked to schools and school support staff who identified young people in need of assistance, counselling and mediation.
“We explore all alternatives. Our number one aim is to have the young person return home and, where that’s not possible, we try to stabilise their living arrangements, whether that’s living with parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles or friends,” she said.
Adrian said being able to turn to MercyCare Reconnect and case worker, Sheryl Naidoo, when the relationship with his parents fractured was a huge comfort and had helped him find direction.
“At the time, I was bitter with my parents and not really interested in going home but Sheryl helped me see the bigger picture. I was able to reconcile with my parents and I went home after a couple of months,” he said.
Ms Naidoo said Reconnect had worked with Adrian and his parents separately and provided family mediation to negotiate boundaries and consequences, improve communication and increase Adrian’s independence.
He successfully completed Year 12 and is now studying screen production at Murdoch University.
Reconnect is a free, confidential service funded by the Department of Social Services. Referrals can be made by calling 1800 800 046.
From pages 16 and 17 from Issue 2: ‘Family: What does it mean in 2016?’ of The Record Magazine