October 10 is the day we recognise the global efforts taken to prevent and end homelessness.

For World Homelessness Day, we spoke to 18-year-old Hayden from Trinity Hill Youth2Independence (Y2I) facility in Hobart.

The Y2I program provides affordable supported accommodation to help young people aged 16-24 engage in education and training, so they can achieve their ambitions and create positive futures for themselves.

Hayden had experienced turmoil in his home life. In Year 10, he found himself bouncing between his family home, being on the street, and couch surfing.

Family breakdown is one of the leading causes of youth homelessness and can stop young people getting to school and can affect their chances of finding and keeping a job, their opportunities to make friends and their capacity to develop life skills.

“I didn’t want to tell many people I’d been experiencing homelessness. I didn’t want a label. But I told my school social worker, and she gave me the number for Housing Connect one day,” Hayden said.

Housing Connect is Tasmania’s housing assistance service, providing one assessment for everything from crisis accommodation to long-term housing.

“You might need this again in the future and I want you to call this number, she said to me," Hayden said.

When asked what advice he would give someone else in his situation he says not to give up mentally.

“My mental health took a massive decline. I thought, I’m homeless! What will I do with my life?

Hayden drew on the breadth of his resilience to keep going during this challenging time.

“I made sure I still went to school, and I maintained my job.”

Housing Connect referred Hayden to crisis accommodation at a local youth shelter where he immediately applied for a unit with Y2I.

“I’ve been here at Trinity Hill since April. I no longer must live in a shelter. I can be independent and come and go as I want and have friends over provided I stick by the rules here.

“I can be my own person," he said.

A key feature of the Y2I program is to connect participants with education or training. Hayden is completing his Certificate III in Information Technology at TAFE which he is finding challenging but enjoying.

“It’s a year-long course condensed in six months so there’s a lot to do!”

Having his own space means he can pursue his favourite hobby which he also enjoys and is also challenging.

“I love Lego and I’m always working on something. The largest Lego set I’ve built was a Concorde and it had 2000 pieces and took me 12 hours,” Hayden said.

Homes Tasmania's Y2I program has five Y2I facilities statewide, providing homes for more than 170 young people. The Y2I program also includes Y2I cluster and share homes which have accommodation for young people who would benefit from living in a small, home-like environment.

Evidence shows that young people facing homelessness can change their lives if they have accommodation, support and access to education and employment with programs like Y2I.

If you don’t have anywhere to sleep tonight, call Housing Connect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 1800 800 588. You can also apply for Y2I at Housing Connect.