A youth worker fears more young Kiwis are being abandoned by the Government after recent housing cuts.
Last week, it was announced $20 million in funding for youth-focused transitional housing is being reallocated.
But the Government said the reallocation won't impact youth transitional housing services.
Community organisation Kick Back, however, claims young people will now have no place to go after leaving youth justice facilities.
Kick Back co-founder Aaron Hendry said last week's Budget is at odds with the Government's commitments to reduce crime, increase education and improve mental health.
"We're past [a] crisis point; young people have already fallen through the cracks and there are young people suffering right now because, for generations, we haven't solved this issue," he told AM.
"We've had young people across the country who are sleeping on our streets and in unsafe environments, and we don't have the housing available to them - the loss of this $20 million means there will be even more who will be experiencing severe harm."
Hendry said these children were being failed by the system.
"By the time they're 15 or 16, you ask them, 'When was the last time you had a safe, stable home?' They say, 'I've experienced homelessness my whole life.'"
He believed gaps in New Zealand's mental health, disability and justice systems were also contributing to youth homelessness.
"We have key pipelines feeding young people into homelessness across the whole social safety net within our country," Hendry told AM host Lloyd Burr.
However, Housing Minister Chris Bishop said the savings were made "where funding has not been committed and where places will not be contracted".
"As a result, the savings will not result in a reduction of current service provision for youth transitional housing," he said in a statement.
Speaking about last week's Budget, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said: "Pretty much anywhere you turn and look, you'll find a story of underfunding and people who are... upset about it.
"This was a Budget that's taking New Zealand backwards, they've underfunded a lot of the public services Kiwis rely on... and they've made some bad choices."
When the Government says it can't afford something, "remember, they gave nearly $3 billion worth of tax cuts to landlords in this Budget", the former Prime Minister added.
"So, if they're prioritising that, that's $3 billion of funding that could've funded so many of the other things they're saying they couldn't afford."
