Domestic violence and abuse made life so difficult for one Wagga teenager even going to school became almost impossible.

Amy is 15-years-old and has been homeless for the past year.

Her story follows Youth Homelessness Week and a new Charles Sturt University report revealing 41,000 people aged between 15 and 23 seek help each year.

For Amy, life at home was not easy with mum and dad continually fighting.

As a primary school student, the difficulties at home made attending school even harder.

“I don’t think I attended school for half a year,” she said.

Her eight-year-old brother attempted to stab her and also strangled their dad as he was driving.

Trying to defend herself only led to her being hurt.

“One day I left for school and didn’t come back,” Amy said.

She was just 14.  Amy is now is in the care of Mission Australia. She is back attending school, learning the skills she will need to have her own home and achieve her dream to one day open a business.

“I want to run my own business and open an indoor skate park,” she said.

“As soon as I turn 16, I want to start looking for my own home.”

When she first left home, she struggled through by couch-surfing for two months with friends before spending eight months at her then boyfriend’s house.

As a young person, Amy found it hard finding help to report the emotional abuse.

“Nobody listens to you, they think you’re just a child,” Amy said.

“I couldn’t stand to be at home but school was just as bad - I had no friends and people were not listening.”

Amy eventually found help from a worker from Family and Community Services where she said people were willing to help.

“People need to reach out and find that one person who can help, whether it’s a friend, teacher, DoCS worker or someone from Mission Australia,” she said.

“A lot of people in my position get underestimated in life, but we are capable of great things, no different to anyone else.

“(Politicians) need to focus on their own people before worrying about other countries, there needs to be more places which provide long-term crisis accommodation.”

Amy said the other people in Mission Australia’s care depended on each other.

“We find that we end up helping each other a lot; we’re closer than people might normally be because of that hard upbringing.”