The Voices of Lived Experience - David Saint shares his insights as a Youth Advocate after being supported by a Youth Foyer in his time of need.

This week we spoke to David Saint, Youth Ambassador, Mental Health and Homelessness Advocate from The Foyer Foundation to hear his lived experience perspective into how to address youth homelessness.

The Foyer Foundation offers a model for young people to live in shared? accommodation and supports their vocational pathways in a supportive, community environment.

The National Children and Youth Homelessness Conference (NCYHC2023) is coming up in July and the voice of young people with lived experience is a critical part of it? - particularly? their unique perspectives on how to address child and youth homelessness in Australia.

The NCYHC will feature a number of Youth Ambassadors from The Foyer Foundation on the topic of ‘The Lived Experience of Young People.’ On Day One David Saint and Tyrah Chan-hampton will be the first of many young people participating in the conference.?

We spoke to David Saint about his experience living at The Foyer Foundation accommodation and how it supported his trajectory to work and learning new skills to support his independence.

David shares insights about why he has become so passionate about advocating for young people and how his lived experience of being vulnerable to homelessness as a young person with challenges to his mental health shaped his perspective on this issue in Australia.?

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you became an advocate for young Australians??

I’m a 23 year old working full-time for Australia’s second biggest Mazda spare parts warehouse.?Born, raised and residing on Kaurna land, I have a lived experience in both youth homelessness and battling with mental illness. My family are an interesting bunch to say the least. All of us are vastly different both in personality and appearance, all of us suffer some sort of mental illness but we all stick together like the Brady Bunch.

My experience with homelessness came just before Covid had begun when I lost my job at the end of December 2019. I was staying with a family member temporarily until we were forced into lockdown due to Covid. Due to my battle with mental illness raging on at the time, living with said family member had no longer become an option and I began couch surfing until I had found the Foyer Foundation in late 2020.

I became an advocate because I was helped in a time where I had lost all hope. When those people who helped me had given me the opportunity to do the same for others you’d best believe I took that opportunity. I believe in a future where young people can be certain that they are safe and secure. A future where young people can take control of their lives, create amazing new things, heck, one of us will discover the cure for cancer.

Can you tell us about why you’re passionate about recognising young people as their own specific cohort that are vulnerable to homelessness??

It’s in the word “young.” Young minds are at the peak of their ability to be educated and developed into our future scientists, architects, builders and governments. Once you bring stress factors such as homelessness, mental illness, trauma and other detriments, those opportunities slowly get stripped away. Keeping young people off the streets should not only be a parental effort, but a community effort as well.

Why are Youth Foyers an effective means to combat youth homelessness?

From my own personal experience living in a Youth Foyer, I grew up faster in the year and a half living at Foyer than I did in my first 20 years of my life. I was given the opportunity to remove the traumatic disturbances in my life and start focusing on building my future, whether it was getting help, studying or seeking out full-time employment. Foyer is a home. It’s safe, secure, accessible to those who need it and helpful. I had the time to change my life in just a matter of months which I couldn’t accomplish for years while facing my mental health and family issues.

What was the most beneficial aspect of being a part of a Youth Foyer??

The most beneficial aspect of Foyer was having resources available at any given time. Need help writing a resume? Done. Need help seeking a job? Done. Need a bit of encouragement for your studies? Done. Need a sandwich because you made bad money choices? Well, actually, this is an educational moment for you so what will you do better next time? I became a much more confident, mature and experienced person coming out of Foyer and I’m forever grateful that I was given that opportunity.

As an Ambassador for Youth Foyers, what do you think the Australian Government and their State and Territory counterparts do to support local Youth Foyers??

Stop funding multimillion dollar sports stadiums and start funding the futures of their people.?

How would you describe living in a Youth Foyer??

I think I’ve already said it but I’ll say it again. I was safe and I felt secure. I had a quiet place to live and I had support right around the corner when I needed it. There was a real strong sense of community interaction which is always necessary to help a developing mind.

Did you learn any specific programs whilst there such as cooking or driving??

I was able to acquire my driver’s license and I learned a few cooking skills while there. Foyer also really helped boost my social skills quite a bit and I am in regular contact with a lot of the residents I was living with at the time.

Were you able to complete any education, training or work whilst living at the Youth Foyer??

I didn’t complete my studies while there due to personal reasons however I did acquire my first full-time job while living at Foyer.

Are Youth Foyers an effective way to combat youth homelessness in rural areas??

As someone with minimal experience living in rural areas, I am not 100% sure how to answer this question. I would need to look at the statistics of homelessness in rural areas to give an accurate answer however I will always encourage as many Youth Foyers to be built as possible.?

If you'd like to learn more about The Foyer Foundation and their model, please visit www.foyer.org.au and join Liz Cameron-Smith , David Saint , Ash Cook , Tyrah Chan-Hampton and Brea Dorsett at the National Children and Youth Homelessness Conference in July in person or attend virtually to hear more about how youth foyers engage with young people in a community based support system.

For tickets to the National Children and Youth Homelessness Conference:

www.youthhomelessnessconference.org.au

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