CARERS FACE FUNDS RISK

PROVIDERS of emergency youth accommodation risk losing their funding
if they turn a blind eye to drug use, says prominent youth worker,
the Rev. George Davies.

Mr Davies, Perth Inner City Youth Service's consultant, said
yesterday most providers of crisis accommodation had no choice but to
enforce strict no-drug policies.

While the service made it clear to clients that it did not approve
illicit drug use, Mr Davies said there were no invasive inspections
of properties or subsequent evictions.

"To retain our funding is an every-day struggle," he said.

"We tell the young people that we don't approve of drug use and that
there is a risk to them and the agency but that is as far as we go."

A community drug summit issues paper which looks at young people and
illicit drug use found one of the biggest gaps in services was the
lack of crisis housing available to young drug users.

The summit will be held at Parliament House from August 13 to 17.

Young people who needed housing and used drugs were not having their
needs met or had to lie about their drug use to get accommodation.

Many crisis youth refuges had criteria that excluded young people who
used drugs. Others would accept the drug users but were forced to
lower the number of beds available in the hostel to ensure the young
person received adequate support.

Mr Davies said he believed many young people used drugs as a way of
dealing with emotional pain.

"We try to look beyond the behaviour because usually these are people
who have had abusive childhoods, who haven't performed well at school
and who have been at the back of every employment queue," he said.

Youth workers had little chance of helping a young person to
stabilise their life if drug-taking resulted in eviction. "That would
be like saying to me if I had a toothache I could only have emergency
accommodation if I stopped taking Panadol for the pain," he said.

"When we get a young person into accommodation we have a very good
chance of helping them work through their issues and maybe then they
can cut down on their damaging drug use."

But he said it would not happen if young people were left on the streets.

Many people who were kicked out of emergency accommodation found
shelter in squats or by spending a few nights at a time with friends.

"It is fairly common for young women to do a trade-off of sexual
favours for food and shelter," he said.