Mr Nolan and others working with youth say there is a gap in services when it comes to young people's accommodation.
"There's a need for short-term emergency care for young people," Mr Nolan said.
"We are aware time and again where accommodation is not suitable - where it's counterproductive to their development."
At present, when young people get "in a jam or there's a relationship breakdown" Mr Nolan resorts to trying to organise short-term boarding "to bridge the gap".
"Transitional housing would be really great," he said.
Work'n It Out staff, who track and assist school leavers towards employment, had also seen the need, Work'n It Out regional manager Andrew Doughty said.
"We don't have the funding and haven't been tasked to provide transitional housing," Invercargill-based Mr Doughty said.
"But Dunedin staff who have clients with those needs have looked around town at what is offered and so have identified this gap."
There was some transitional housing for young people in Dunedin, he said.
However, it had "very specific criteria", such as being for people with drug and alcohol or mental health issues, learning difficulties, or awaiting bail.
"Most of our clients don't fit those criteria, so if they are in that situation they have nowhere to live," Mr Doughty said.
His Dunedin staff said staffed accommodation with up to a dozen beds was needed to meet ongoing demand.
It should be "a place of safety", he said.
It should be "somewhere they [young people] will have appropriate role models and be able to develop appropriate skills such as behaviour, roles, responsibilities and consequences, and get budgeting support and health education - everything they would have received from a stable, positive home environment."
Transitional housing should also provide access to and information about the various services available to help them.
At present the concept was only "people talking in passing", Mr Doughty said.
"We need to continue having those conversations and working towards a solution. A whole-of-community response is required."
Dunedin City Council community adviser Michael Laufiso said youth transitional housing was looked at about three years ago but was not pursued because there was no clear idea of the need.
However, an inter-agency meeting called by Child Youth and Family last week had begun exploring a range of youth transition issues including accommodation, Mr Laufiso said.
"Organisations have been asked to each look at the needs for their client base," he said.
The next meeting would be in about a month's time.
The city council would support initiatives driven by other agencies in response to youth needs, Mr Laufiso said.
