The number of young people experiencing homelessness in regional NSW is more prevalent than general perception, according to Mission Australia.

Project Manager for Specialist Homelessness Service, Dylan Crawley manages Mission Australia's regional focus across Coonamble, Coonabarabran, Nyngan, and Warren.  He says homelessness among young people aged 15 to 19 is a hidden issue in rural and regional areas.. 

 This comes as Mission Australia releases a report in which it found that one in ten respondents to their NSW Youth Survey 2023 went through a period of homelessness within the past 12 months. 

"I think the general public may not realize the actual number of youth that we do have that are homeless at any one point in small, rural towns," Mr Crawley said. 

The young people in the survey were homeless either with or without their families. 

"There is a lack of social and public housing stock in small communities and most of those houses are not targeted at youth," Mr Crawley said. 

Walgett Shire Council has the highest homelessness rate in Central and Far West NSW, according to a 2021 census on homelessness NSW with 150 people listed as not having accommodation. 

Twenty-five of that number were 19 and under. 

Some crisis accommodation services, such as Link2Home which offers assessment and referrals to homelessness support and accommodation services across NSW can be accessed by young people over 16 years old. 

However, not all service providers accept people under 18, with assessments for emergency housing made on a case-by-case basis.

"A lot of motel providers who deal with link2home do become quite apprehensive to offering crisis accommodation to 16 or 17-year-olds," Mr Crawley said.

This means they are often left to couch surf at the homes of friends and families which often is not a long-term solution.

"We sometimes assist them with getting them onto their payments, getting an ID, earning their income, assisting with some food that sort of thing because it can be a financial burden for the households they are staying in for the short term," he said. 

Issues within the family and relationship breakdowns are often the cause of youth homelessness, according to Mission Australia.

 Youth homelessness can impact children and young adults for a long time. 

"It impacts their education, their prospects of employment, their ability to have healthy relationships. If young people are worried about where they're going to stay tonight or tomorrow that becomes their sole focus." 

The Coonamble Shire Council received $2.9 million in funding from the Youth Empowerment Fund to build a new crisis accommodation in Gulargambone and Coonamble. 

The date for the opening of the crisis accommodation is yet to be confirmed.