The unseen children who roam Perth's streets at night

As Perth's weekend nights come alive, a dedicated team works largely unseen, offering a lifeline to children and teenagers navigating the city's streets alone. The Youth Beat team patrols Perth's entertainment districts, encountering dozens of juveniles each night who are unsupervised and often disconnected from support systems. These encounters highlight a hidden layer of disadvantage within the bustling urban landscape.

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There's lots that we could do to support her, and hopefully, that family.

Team leader Alannah Paylor and her colleague Summer Hansford walk thousands of steps on Friday and Saturday nights, engaging with young people under 18. They offer immediate assistance, such as snacks, water, and phone charging, to build trust. Paylor notes that approximately 80% of the youths they encounter identify as Aboriginal. The team's presence is crucial for identifying those who are "falling through the cracks," often due to issues like domestic violence, lack of community connection, or mental health struggles.

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That might be domestic violence at home, their home isn't a safe place. It might be that they're seeking connection and they don't feel connected in their community. It might be that they're having mental health struggles.

The Youth Beat initiative, operating in various forms for two decades, collaborates with a network of services, including child protection staff. Its priority is ensuring the safety of these young individuals, often by helping them get home. Elise Jorgensen, regional leader at Mission Australia, emphasizes the unique collective effort involving police, a non-profit organization, crisis care staff, and an Aboriginal organization working together on the streets. Frequent interactions with the same youths signal deeper problems, indicating that their home environment may not be safe or that they are seeking connection elsewhere.

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It's the only one [service] that we know of where the police, a not-for-profit organisation, [government] crisis care [staff] and an Aboriginal organisation work collectively together in working through the night on the streets.