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Category: States and Territories / Government and Politics / Unemployment / Community and Society / Steel / Industry

Whyalla's instability putting youth 'at risk of homelessness'

Monday, 19 Sep 2016 08:13:41

Arrium went into voluntary administration in April. (ABC News: Dean Faulkner)

Drug addiction and domestic violence has forced many young people out of their homes in Whyalla, as the region grapples with economic instability, social support organisation Mission Australia says.

Thousands of jobs have been lost in the area in recent years and Whyalla's main employer, Arrium, has gone into administration.

Mission Australia's chief executive officer Catherine Yeomans said the community was seeking extra support during a period of economic instability in the steel city.

"Particularly in Whyalla what we see is the pressure and the heightened levels of anxiety around the uncertainty of the unemployment situation facing many people in the community," Ms Yeomans said.

"So they're even more at risk of turning to things like drug use to help them deal with how they're feeling.

"Also with ice use comes more aggression and with people being quite concerned about the financial situation unfortunately that's also translating into increased levels of family and domestic violence."

She said this was having an impact on younger family members.

"We're hearing of an increased number of young people who are couch surfing, not feeling safe living at home, maybe there's conflict and uncertainty for them as well."

Financial counselling demand increasing: Mission Australia

Ms Yeomans said the extra pressure on households increasing demand for support services such as financial counselling.

"There's certainly a need to support people who have either faced job losses or are at risk of a job loss to support them with financial counselling, understanding how they can keep paying the bills or manage any final payments so that they can either successfully transition into retirement or secure other employment," she said.

She said Mission Australia staff were working hard to support the community, but many were facing their own difficulties.

"Unfortunately we haven't got an increase in resources available to deal with these issues, but we do know that there is an increased demand, so there is pressure on our team," Ms Yeomans said.

"Our staff are members of the community so they can be impacted in a number of different ways as well with their own family members impacted by the uncertainty.

"It's a very challenging situation."

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