Youth housing workers and housing affordability: Living on struggle street

This article argues that youth housing workers in Victoria, Australia, are vulnerable to housing affordability problems and one reason for this is inadequate pay. A survey of 10 youth housing workers explained the ways in which they had struggled to afford housing. Some paid more than 30% of their wage on housing costs. Others relied on income other than their youth housing worker salary to afford rental accommodation, which included pay from a second job, drawing on credit, and financial support from partners, family, and friends. Most reported that they did not have sufficient income to save to purchase a home. These findings resonate with secondary source aggregate data, which identified that for almost a decade the pay of youth homelessness service workers in Victoria has not kept pace with average wage growth and rises in rents and house prices. Improving youth housing workers pay is recommended as a way to address their housing affordability concerns.