A new path for homeless Australian Jewish youth

A startling statistic was unveiled at a community symposium on Jewish youth homelessness held in Melbourne recently: 37 young Jewish people, aged 12-24, are estimated to be homeless or marginally housed each year.

The symposium organised by Pathways organisation was introduced by Pathways’ CEO and founder, Leah Boulton, who presented the first-ever study on Melbourne’s Jewish youth at risk of homelessness. Pathways offers support to young people who are questioning, transitioning out of, or have already left insular religious communities, including Orthodox.

Conducted from January to July of this year, the study consulted young Jewish adults aged 17 and over with lived experience, religious parents, community leaders, and a range of support services including those from the Jewish community and local state government.

Alarmingly, the study found that little-to-no support frameworks within the community existed to support at-risk Jewish teens. Vital services such as culturally appropriate foster care or a youth safe house were not available for those under the age of 18 who were experiencing abuse or, for those in Orthodox homes, conflict over religious differences. If such crisis housing did exist, young people would be far more likely to come forward about experiencing abuse or needing assistance.

But that’s about to change, according to Pathways.

Until now, most of its services – including social gatherings, LGBTIQA+ support, mentorship and referrals to health professionals and emergency housing - have only been available to those aged 18 and over. This has left few options to vulnerable Jewish minors, especially those in Orthodox communities.