The report showed 51 per cent of homeless people in New Zealand were under 25.
Under 25 could mean early 20s. Or it could mean an infant with their family, living on the streets or without a permanent home.
According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, accessing safe and stable accommodation is a "key challenge" for young people.
In the same week that shocking statistic was published, we also revealed nearly $4.7 million had been spent on emergency housing and special-needs grants in Rotorua during the past three months, and more than $2.5m was spent in Tauranga in the same time frame.
So you can't say the Government isn't doing something to help homeless people.
But Ngāi Te Rangi's chief executive Paora Stanley is concerned the first reaction is to put homeless youth in motels, rather than focus on the root cause.
He mentioned root causes such as sexual or physical abuse, addiction, mental health, and unemployment.
Addressing youth homelessness means front up to all of those things. It may sound like too much to ask but, with youth making up 51 per cent of homeless, we need to try.
A Statistics NZ report found that, in the year ended June 2019, one in five Kiwi children, or 235,400, were living in relative poverty.
In the Bay of Plenty, 219 receive the Ministry of Social Development's Youth Payment for people aged 16 or 17.
It's for those who can't live with their parents or a guardian, and aren't supported.
Already the Labour Government rolled out support such as the Winter Energy Payment, school lunches, increased paid parental leave and the Child Poverty Reduction Act. But, I believe, no matter how much is done to address child poverty statistics, it will never be enough until child poverty does not exist.
The Government needs to continue to prioritise tackling this now and it needs to do so before more kids become homeless.
