Two students from Tennant Creek High School used their voices in the Northern Territory Youth Parliament to call for urgent action on youth homelessness in their community.
Maleah Presley and Shakina Frank, both participants in the STARS Foundation program, tabled a petition advocating for a youth hostel in Tennant Creek. A safe place for young people who cannot stay in their homes due to violence, alcohol abuse, or unsafe living environments.
Their message was simple: young people in Tennant Creek need somewhere safe to go.
The pair spoke about the reality facing many young people in their town, children leaving their homes at night because they do not feel safe, roaming the streets, and arriving at school exhausted or not attending at all.
Shakina Frank described the impact this has on students in the classroom.
“Some kids come to class so tired from being out on the streets that they fall asleep in lessons,” she said. “When their attendance drops, they start to fall behind in their schoolwork and eventually they fail their subjects.”
Frank said many students eventually disengage from school altogether.
“Some kids stop going to class completely. Instead, they spend their time smoking or getting into fights with other kids. These students most likely will not even make it to Year 12.”
The issue, she said, is not simply about education, it is about safety, stability, and belonging.
Break-ins and youth crime have also increased in the community, contributing to fear and division.
“This makes the whole community feel unsafe and restless,” Frank said. “Must we beg to be heard?”
Maleah Presley, a proud Ngarrindjeri and Arrernte woman, told Youth Parliament that her involvement with the STARS Foundation helped her build the confidence to speak up for young people in her community.
“I believe that young people, especially young women from remote communities, have powerful voices and important stories to share,” Presley said.
She explained that many young people are forced to leave their homes because of violence or alcohol-fuelled environments.
“When this happens, the home does not feel safe or welcoming. Instead of being a place to rest, it becomes a place of stress and fear,” she said. “This can make young people feel like they have nowhere to belong.”
During the debate Presley also expressed frustration that the need for a youth hostel had previously been dismissed.
“We were told by Territory Families that they did not have the data required to show evidence of the need for the hostel,” she said.
“Apparently, the two eyes that God blessed them with aren’t working, so the community must be lying, or the countless break-ins aren’t evidence enough?”
According to the petition tabled at Youth Parliament, Tennant Creek has 147 homeless people per 10,000 residents and a severe lack of youth-specific crisis accommodation.
Funding disparities were also highlighted. Just over $750,000 is allocated to crisis facilities in Tennant Creek, compared with almost $10 million in Darwin.
The petition calls for several key actions, including increased funding for youth homelessness housing, improved referral pathways for vulnerable children, greater accountability for parents and caregivers, and the construction of a youth hostel in Tennant Creek.
Frank ended her speech with a powerful reflection.
“In the wise words of an African proverb: ‘When children don’t feel the warmth of a village, they will burn it down to feel it.’”
“Just in case you didn’t know,” she added, “children in Tennant Creek burnt down our local IGA supermarket a few years back. I think that says enough.”
For Presley and Frank, the message to decision makers is clear: young people in Tennant Creek are asking to be heard and they are asking for change.