‘It’s hard to resist the streets at night when you’re facing this at home’

📰 Earlier this month, ‘The Australian’ newspaper reported on the difficulty that some children in Alice Springs have in attending school – and remaining out of the Youth Justice System – when they have significant difficulty at home.

🗣 A local school principal quoted in the article stated, ‘They [the responsible adults] want their kids to be educated, there’s no question about that. It’s just about how many difficult barriers they have to overcome to get in.”

The story continued, “issues such as health, housing, food security and safety are so tightly interwoven with school attendance that it’s difficult to untangle them’ 💬

🔎 The article also explored the issues with housing in remote communities and Central Australia, stating, “in many remote communities there are no rental properties and private home ownership isn’t an option. The only housing is public. The waiting time for public housing in Katherine, Nhulunbuy and Alice Springs is 6-8 years… in Tennant Creek it’s between 8-10 years.” 🏠

Read the full story via ➡️ https://bit.ly/3rMozHF

📣 It is so important to fully understand the issues that women and children in our community may be dealing with, in trying to live their daily lives as best they can, in the circumstances they face 🙏🫂

⚖️ CAWLS continues to provide support to local women and their children in many areas of law, including assistance & advocacy with housing. To speak with a lawyer confidentially, call our free hotline on 1800 684 055 ☎️