After having endured her father's death, her step-father's suicide and ongoing conflict with her mother since the age of 11, Jade Lomas was kicked out of home a week after her 16th birthday.

Youth homelessness report findings: One in seven young people surveyed had left home at some point in the past three years

One in seven young people surveyed had left home at some point in the past three years A quarter of the teens did so more than 10 times

A quarter of the teens did so more than 10 times 13.5 per cent of young people surveyed left home at some point and felt they could not return

13.5 per cent of young people surveyed left home at some point and felt they could not return More than 58 per cent of the young people who left home were "extremely" or "very concerned" about stress

More than 58 per cent of the young people who left home were "extremely" or "very concerned" about stress Over 28 per cent were "extremely" or "very concerned" about suicide

Over 28 per cent were "extremely" or "very concerned" about suicide More than 1 in 5 reported feeling either "negative" or "very negative" about the future

More than 1 in 5 reported feeling either "negative" or "very negative" about the future Of those that stayed home, 15 per cent cited strong concern over depression, almost 13 per cent over family conflict, and 8 per cent over suicide Source: Mission Australia's Home and Away: Child and Youth Homelessness report

She bounced between friends' places, sometimes sleeping overnight in parks around Camden, in Sydney's south-west, for three-and-a-half years.

The worst thing was being in constant fear about the future, she said.

"Having to stress about having a roof over my head every night - that was probably the most difficult thing. It's so, so, so stressful," she said.

A recent survey from welfare organisation Mission Australia has identified a series of risk factors pushing teenagers on to the street, stressing the need for investment in early intervention plans.

Mission Australia estimates 44,000 young people and children are homeless on any given night across Australia.

The Home and Away: Child and Youth Homelessness report surveyed almost 19,000 young people aged 15 to 19, and found one in seven had left home at some point over the past three years - over a quarter of teens did so more than 10 times.

For the first time, the Mission Australia survey identified a series of risk factors pushing Australia's teenagers onto the street, including family conflict and concerns over stress.

The findings "point to the existence of a critical group of young couch surfers with poor family relationships experiencing family conflict," the report said.

"These young people are on a pathway to entrenched homelessness unless action is taken," it added.

Ms Lomas, who is now 19, said family conflict led many teens to live on the street.

She said stress, depression and anxiety played a significant role in her life over the past three years, as well as in the lives of those around her.

"I knew I was super down, but I don't think I realised it enough to want to do something about it," she said.

"Me and mum just kept trying and at that time we were just like: 'it is not working at all'.

"We thought it was better for us to not be living together, but that also meant I had to ... that I had to start from nothing."

More funding, longer-term thinking needed

In July 2015, the Federal Government committed $230 million over two years to fund frontline homelessness services under the ongoing National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness (NPAH).

But CEO of Mission Australia, Catherine Yeomans, said current funding arrangements, like the NPAH, only operate with the "short term" in mind.

"Providers like ourselves don't know from one budget year to the next, necessarily, whether funding is going to continue to support the programs which we know work," she said.

Mission Australia is asking federal, state, and territory governments across Australia to commit to halving youth homelessness by 2020 through longer-term funding arrangements.

"In this context of talking about budget cuts, let's be really careful about where we are investing money," she said.

"Investing money in early intervention in our young people will pay dividends for society in to the future."

Support services help young people turn their lives around

Ms Lomas said support services saved her life. She said it had taken one caring teacher, UnitingCare Burnside, Youth Off The Streets, multiple refuges, and Mission Australia to get her to where she is now.

But she said increased access to support within schools could have kept her off the streets, and she wanted to spread the message.

After three years of being homeless, Mission Australia helped Ms Lomas find a rental property at Bankstown. ( ABC News: Raveen Hunjan )

"We need the young people to know that the services are there," Ms Lomas said.

"So if that does happen to happen in their family, they know what to do, they have another place to go.

"They're not lost walking around for three and a half years like I was."

Like many teens struggling with homelessness, Ms Lomas dropped out of high school after year 10, but has managed to turn her life around.

She is currently working at Woolworths and is enrolled in a Certificate IV in Food Science at TAFE.

She connected with Mission Australia five months ago, who have since helped her to lease an apartment in Bankstown and develop a structured goal achievement plan.

"There's still a fair bit to go, but I don't know, I just keep trying," she said. "I reckon I'll get there."