A Reality Too Harsh for 43,000 Australian Youth
This July and August the Young & Alone campaign is running across billboards, radio, TV, and lift screens across the country. This awareness campaign appears at first to be a reality TV show about youth homelessness – the twist being that for more than 43,000 young people it is the reality. The full campaign – an opening ‘trailer’ for the show and then some shorter clips of the young people – is on this page.
Young & Alone: Feature Trailer
We hope that it educates Australians about the horrific challenges young people face when they are homeless has struck up conversations in homes across the country. If it has impacted you, then send a message to your MP and sign this petition here, which asks for a focused plan for homeless young people.
The Property Industry Foundation has been working behind the scenes on this campaign for over 6 months. Last year we approached YFoundations, the peak body that runs the Youth Homelessness Day Matters campaign and suggested a collaboration to build a consumer awareness campaign for homeless youth. We agreed to fund a campaign coordinator role, and then we approached UnLtd – the media industry charity that also focuses on youth – to collaborate to create what is now the Young and Alone campaign.
It’s the first time that three major industries – media, property, and the youth sector – have united to drive change. The campaign highlights that more than 43,000 young Australians are at risk of, or experiencing homelessness, and that half of the young people seeking refuge in 2023–24 were turned away due to a lack of capacity.
Young & Alone: Posters
UnLtd got on board as did their partners – Ogilvy Australia and PHD Media. The production team at Rabitt did the creative, and PHD brought media companies including ARN, JCDecaux, Nine, oOh!, TikTok, and Val Morgan onboard. Together, the media industry has committed $3m of pro bono time, expertise, and inventory to this campaign.
We are very proud of the catalyst role we played in bringing this campaign to market and equally proud of the partnership we have created with YFoundations and UnLtd. It’s hard to make change on your own; you need a concerted and coordinated effort across sectors and industries. At the Foundation, our biggest muscle is our ability to collaborate, and – with your help – we want to flex it.
Young & Alone: 30 second spot
Young & Alone: 15 second spot
Young & Alone: Banner
