'The kids are coming': just access to care for unaccompanied homeless children in Tasmania

In this article I reflect on my journey of undertaking a suite of research projects focused on a cohort of highly vulnerable older children in Tasmania. These are children who live trajectories of harm and adversity and who remain a constant, distressing presence in multiple services which are unable to provide the care they require. I describe how projects set up to explore the issues faced by this cohort consistently highlight the unique and often overwhelmingly difficult lives of children who experience homelessness unaccompanied by a parent or guardian. At the same time, however, I point to encouraging developments in policy and service provision which, for the first time in Tasmania, very clearly articulate and embed unaccompanied homeless children and their need for care amongst the social care imperatives for the state.