For many young Australians, couch surfing isn't a choice, it's a necessity, and it's a precarious position to find yourself in, without a place to call 'home'. Picture: Thinkstock Source: Supplied
SEVERAL thousand young South Australians do not have a bed to call their own, says Paul Edginton.
HAVING a warm bed to sleep in each night and a safe and happy home is something many of us take for granted.
Now imagine being 16, or even younger, and not knowing where you'll be sleeping from one night to the next.
This is the reality and the daily challenge for tens of thousands of young Australians around the country, including many in South Australia.
These young Australians are often hidden from public view, under the shroud of what's known as "couch surfing".
For some, couch surfing is a cheap form of accommodation when they're travelling or crashing on a friend's couch after that big night out.
But for many South Australians sleeping on a couch isn't a choice, it's a necessity and it's dangerous.
Many of us only think of the homeless as people sleeping rough on the streets or in hostels.
For young people in South Australia, that number is almost 3000.
Even more concerning is the fact that nine out of 10 of these young people are "couch surfing".
Add to that the fact that many of these youngsters are young women, often with children, and their plight becomes even more alarming.
Tomorrow is World Homeless Day, a day we hope draws attention and awareness to the devastating issue which affects so many people.
It's also Couch Day, a day when we at SYC (the Service to Youth Council) will highlight the issue of couch surfing as a prevalent and often hidden form of youth homelessness and social exclusion.
We've developed the Couch Day concept to raise awareness of this issue; giving a voice to the thousands of young Australians each year out there couch surfing.
"Couch Day" is about helping young people and the community to identify and destigmatise the reality of being homeless by encouraging a conversation and recognition of this serious issue.
So tomorrow, Rundle Mall, Victoria Square and Melbourne's Federation Square will be taken over by a sea of couches, many bearing poignant messages about the issue.
We're encouraging the public to grab a free coffee, sit on the couches and listen to young people's stories on MP3 players - and generally learn more about what couch surfing really means and where to go for help if it's needed.
We're encouraging people to share their own experiences of couch surfing - either as a young person who's couch surfed or as someone who's offered their home to a young person with nowhere else to go.
The Gillard Government has declared that it will be addressing homelessness as a national priority. The Federal Government is committed to halving the rate of homelessness and providing accommodation to all rough sleepers who seek it by 2020.
But reducing homelessness is everyone's responsibility.
Homelessness for young people is different than for adults. Young people need more direct and sustained assistance - they need their community to support and protect them.
We hope conversations on Couch Day will act as a trigger to change perceptions in the general community about homelessness and also help in the early identification of vulnerable young people.
We believe the community can, in many different ways, play an instrumental role in helping young people get on their feet, by putting their hand out to help and also by supporting organisations like SYC.
Couch surfing is also not just about homelessness and having a roof over your head, it can have an impact on every aspect of a young person's life.
Moving from couch to couch, asking yourself every day where will you be sleeping that night, which very well may not be the same place as the past night, is as exhausting as it is challenging.
What would it do for your confidence to have to ask people, every night, if you could sleep on their sofa?
Would you feel like a valued community member?
With that in the background, you can only begin to imagine how hard it is for a young person to concentrate on staying at school or even contemplating getting a job, without that place to call "home".
So, as you go to sleep tonight safe in your home, spare a thought for 34,000 young Australians, including the thousands here in SA, who won't be enjoying the same luxury.
Paul Edginton is chief executive officer of the Service to Youth Council, a non-government, not-for-profit community service organisation established in 1958 to support disadvantaged young people.
