Facts on Homelessness
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What is Homelessness
‘Homelessness’ is much more than ‘houselessness’
Homelessness can mean a number of things. At its most basic definition, it can simply mean being without any shelter. However, most of us don’t just think of our home as merely a place of shelter. Usually, a ‘home’ is not just a house, it represents family and friendships and social connections with other human beings.
Most people’s experience of homelessness is brief
In the majority of instances ‘homelessness’ will be a brief incident that any of us can experience during our lifetimes. There are many reasons why any one person could experience homelessness including:
- Moving to another city or town and staying with a friend until a suitable home is found.
- Leaving a family home because of conflict, domestic violence or family breakdown.
- Loss of employment or a gambling addiction can mean people are evicted for non-payment of rent.
In the vast majority of these cases, people can get their lives back together again, find new work, deal with their addictions, with or without the help of community services and find suitable housing and continue on with their lives.
Some people may experience longer episodes of homelessness
In some instances, the experience of homelessness can be traumatic and longer term. Some people, usually those without family or social support, may find themselves stuck in homelessness. Some may become ‘rough sleepers’, others may cycle through a range of inadequate and short term accommodation arrangements. They may stay in squats, private rooming houses or on friend’s and relatives couches.
Some may access homelessness hostels, intoxicated persons units (IPU) or other services established to assist people in need of crisis accommodation.
A definition of homelessness
A common definition of homelessness, developed by two Australian researchers, Chamberlain and Mackenzie (1992) categorises homelessness into three broad areas. These are:
- Primary homelessness: People without conventional accommodation, such as rough sleepers, squatters etc.
- Secondary homelessness: People who frequently move between temporary accommodation, emergency shelters sleeping on couches etc.
- Tertiary homelessness: People who have insecure tenure and who may be staying long term in boarding houses where they do not have private bathroom or kitchen facilities.
Workers and volunteers who provide crisis services to homeless people (eg. overnight shelters; free food services) are most likely to have contact with people experiencing ‘primary homelessness’. However, they will also sometimes be in touch with those experiencing secondary and tertiary homelessness.
Some people, who may actually be in secure housing, but who experience disadvantage because they may have no or little income may also use free or subsidised food or other social services.
Also, some people who may have previously experienced chronic homelessness but who have since found accommodation have often developed solid friendships and social networks with people who are still homeless. They may meet up with these people on the streets, some may drink together and also use some homelessness services, such as day centres and food services.
Another definition of homelessness – by people who experience it
The Chamberlain and Mackenzie definition is sometimes criticised because it defines homelessness in relation to people’s access to shelter or housing. Alternative definitions of homelessness have been developed. The following definition is used along with the Chamberlain and Mackenzie definition in the City of Sydney’s Homelessness Strategy 2007-2012. It was based on work done by Kraybill and was developed in conjunction with some people who are currently experiencing long term homelessness.
The First Home: the self. The characteristics of this home are physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual in nature. This home needs to be nurtured, rested, nourished and emotionally supported.
The second home: might cover any of the descriptions provided under the primary, secondary and tertiary definitions of homelessness. It is the place where we live, and it refers not only to the physical structure but to the living environment within which it is located. This home is where we sleep, where we begin and end every day, where we store our belongings, it may be where we socialise and interact with others.
The third home: is the larger community within which our first and second homes are located. It provides context to the lives that are lived within it and how that is realised at an individual level. Here the connectivity between individuals, multiple communities, the residential, business and visitors all meet in the same place. The quality of that home is defined by the relationships of all groups within it.
Being homeless
One of the people consulted by the City of Sydney during the development of its Homelessness Strategy 2007 – 2012 stated the following:
“Over the years I have met and got to know so many decent homeless people. Homelessness is the result of a set of circumstances that get out of control and no two are exactly alike and when you arrive, all illusion is swept away, your very humanity your morality, your sense of right and wrong and you ask yourself why do people look at me like that? I believe that the battle against homelessness must start with changing society’s perception. The round peg in the round hole is a sound idea, but when you put a square peg in a round hole, that’s when things start falling apart…”
Key points
- Homelessness is not just about a lack of shelter.
- We might all experience an episode of homelessness in our lives. For most of us this will be a brief experience.
- Some people who experience long term homelessness may have drug or alcohol addictions, mental illness, health problems, disability, a background of trauma and/or limited or no family support.
- A common definition of homelessness identifies 3 categories; Primary; Secondary and Tertiary.
- There are other definitions of homelessness, which refer to people’s lived experience and not just their access to housing or shelter.
- Some people who were long term homeless but are now housed may retain their friendships and social networks with people who are still homeless.
Who becomes Homelessness
Anybody can experience homelessness
We can all experience an episode of homelessness during our lives.
Crises or other unexpected events can leave any person or family the victim of natural or other disasters that may destroy a home. Unemployment or other financial problems might lead to eviction. Poor physical or mental health can make paid work impossible.
The people who might experience homelessness are ‘all of us’.
Homelessness is usually a brief experience
The majority of people who experience homelessness in Australia do so only very briefly. A much smaller group may experience homelessness for a longer period. An even smaller group experience ‘chronic’ homelessness. The next part of this module will focus on those people who may experience chronic homelessness and who are more likely to also experience ‘primary’ homelessness (that is ‘rough sleeping’).
Have you been homeless?
You may be able to think of a time in your own life when you experienced ‘homelessness’. Perhaps you had moved inter-state and were looking for accommodation. Perhaps you needed to stay with friends or family while waiting to move into your own home. You may not have associated your own experience as being ‘homeless’ because you knew it would be brief and had other plans in mind. Most importantly, you probably had family, friends and other social networks to assist you and did not experience the feeling of disconnection from other members of the community.
Chronic Homelessness
Longer term (or Chronic) homelessness
There is sufficient evidence and research to indicate that people who experience longer term homelessness are more likely to experience one or more of the following:
- Drug and/or alcohol abuse or addictions
- Mental illness or other mental health disorders
- A background of trauma and/or abuse
- Brain damage or intellectual disability
- Learning difficulties (some may be functionally illiterate)
- Poor living skills
- Other disabilities or physical health problems
- Unemployment
- Gambling addictions
- Family or domestic violence
Not all people who experience these issues will become homeless. Evidence to shows that “social connectedness” can prevent people from experiencing chronic homelessness. This usually means adequate support from family and/or friends.
Becoming entrenched in homelessness
Experience has shown many workers in the homelessness and community services fields believe that the longer someone stays homeless the more likely they are to remain homeless. It is much more difficult to leave homelessness for those that have become entrenched. Some researchers use three stages of homelessness to describe what happens:
1.Marginal
2.Recent
3.Chronic
Social exclusion
As people become more marginalised and socially excluded and less able to access adequate support and housing they may adapt to their situation by developing support networks with homeless services and other people who are homeless.
As one homeless person commented, during consultations for the City of Sydney’s Homeless Strategy, on views of other members of the community:
“They spit at you with their eyes”.
It is really important that people who have become recently homeless are able to access appropriate health and community services as well as accommodation or housing.
It is possible for people entrenched in homelessness to become securely housed and supported (if required), although it can take a bit longer to achieve.
Mental illness and homelessness
There is much myth around the notion of mental illness and homelessness. The majority of people who have a mental illness or mental disorder do not experience chronic homelessness. However, some do and this is not necessarily the result of them having been released from mental health institutions. The majority of people with a mental illness have never been institutionalised long term, nor should they be.
Changes in Psychiatric Treatment
A key development in the treatment of mental health problems occurred in the late 1950s and early 1960s with the advent of psychotropic medications. This meant psychotic disorders and other conditions could be effectively treated and there was a decrease in the need to routinely hold people in large facilities for long periods.
Prior to the availability of effective medications there was little that psychiatry could do to assist people with mental illnesses, apart from ‘contain’ them.
De-institutionalisation
Some people have a misunderstanding of de-institutionalisation. Many institutions were closed by state governments during the 1970s and 1980s because of the availability of psychotropic medication. The misunderstanding occurs when people believe de-institutionalisation has not worked and therefore the answer must be‘re-institutionalisation’. Although it is clear that some very chronically mentally ill people may always require a higher level of support than others, the answer does not lie in large long term facilities.
Community Support
The answer still lies (as it did in the 1970s) in appropriately resourced and funded supported accommodation and other community mental health options.
Some people who have a mental illness and are chronically homeless may cycle in and out of acute mental health units and back onto the streets. If we are to break this cycle there needs to be longer term community based housing and support options such as the HASI (Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative) in NSW.
There is good evidence to show that homeless people with mental health problems can exit homelessness into long term housing if they are provided with appropriate treatment and adequate support.
Addictions to alcohol and other drugs
Although a lot of people associate mental illness with chronic homelessness, one of the main reasons that people become and remain chronically homeless is due to drug and/or alcohol misuse and addictions. In fact quite a number of long term homeless people have both a mental illness and a drug or alcohol problem (known as a ‘dual diagnosis’).
Recovery is possible
It is important that detox, rehabilitation, self-help and other support options are available to people to assist them to address drug and alcohol addiction. In so doing many people may find themselves better able to sustain long term housing.
Housing First – recovery could be helped by a stable living situation
Conversely, there is some evidence to indicate that people may have an improved likelihood of dealing with their drug or alcohol problems if they are housed. It is really difficult to deal with these kinds problems ‘on the streets’ and while living amongst other people who may still be using drugs or drinking alcohol.
Trauma and abuse
An important study into homelessness in Sydney that was done a number of years ago by Buhrich, Hodder and Teesson (1998) found that: 93% of homeless people in the inner city have experienced at least one major trauma event in their lives; 100% of women and 91% of men.
High rates of trauma in the chronically homeless population
This is a very significant and troubling figure. Almost all homeless people (in fact, all homeless women) interviewed by the researchers had experienced some trauma in their lives. There is little doubt that the experience of trauma (be it childhood trauma, family violence, health problems, accidents etc) can be a precursor to chronic homelessness. There is also little doubt that the experience of homelessness, itself, is stressful and traumatic.
Appropriate support
Personal problems do not have to result in long term homelessness
Although we know that a range of problems may be implicated in homelessness, it does not have to stay that way. Needless to say, the diagnosis of a mental illness does not have to result in homelessness, nor does the experience of family breakdown, traumatic experiences, addiction, disability or unemployment.
People can and do exit chronic homelessness
With timely and appropriate support most people do not become homeless and most do not experience chronic homelessness. For those that do, it is possible to change the situation. It may not happen immediately, but with help from other members of the community, support services, mental health services, drug and alcohol programs, accommodation services and the availability of affordable housing….people can and do leave homelessness.
Social Inclusion
Another important part of successfully exiting chronic homelessness can involve ‘re-connection’ with the community’ and ‘social inclusiveness’.
Key points
- A number of factors may contribute to someone becoming and remaining chronically homeless.
- It is essential that homelessness be addressed as soon as possible.
- The longer someone remains homeless the greater the difficulty in exiting homeless.
- A research study in Sydney in 1998 found that almost 100% of homeless respondents had experienced a trauma event at some time in their lives.
- People who experience chronic homelessness can and do exit homelessness.
- No one ever has to be viewed as a ‘lost cause’.
- The experience of mental health problems, family breakdown, unemployment, disability or learning difficulties (these are just examples) does not have to result in chronic homelessness.
- With the right service responses and community connections no one need become or remain homeless.
Do People Choose to become Homeless
One of the most frequent myths about homelessness is that people choose to be so. The general public, as well as some workers in homelessness and health services get this wrong, so don’t be too concerned if you got it wrong too.
The short answer to the question is NO.
People do NOT choose to become homeless.
The longer answer, however, is a bit more complex…
Precursors to homelessness
We know that some of the precursors to chronic homelessness can be family breakdown, mental illness, trauma, learning difficulties, disability, health problems and addictions.
To say that people choose to be homeless is a bit like saying that children choose to have their families break down, that they choose trauma and abuse. It suggests that adults choose to have mental illness, learning difficulties, addictions or health problems. These are not choices people make.
In regard to briefer episodes of homelessness, people don’t choose to have their house burn down or to have their house located in the path of a cyclone. Eviction as the result of financial difficulties is usually not the result of choice, but often the result of unexpected events such as unemployment, ill health or financial problems. Again, these are usually not conscious choices.
So, why do people commonly think people choose to be homeless?
There may be a number of reasons why people think homelessness is a choice. Sometimes this myth is reinforced by people who are homeless. As already noted, people who become entrenched in homelessness can adapt to a street based lifestyle. This helps them to cope and provides needed support from other people who are homeless. In adapting to homelessness, some people may become used to a transient lifestyle and after a period may state that they choose to remain homeless. This is quite different to choosing to become homeless in the first instance.
Long term homelessness can impact on self worth
People who experience longer term homelessness are also likely to have this impact on their sense of worth and self esteem. They may prefer to state they have chosen homelessness to help regain a sense of control over what has happened to them. Some may also prefer to continue to ‘sleep rough’ in preference to using services who’s rules and requirements they may prefer not to live with.
Some people may be waiting for long term housing
Some people may not want to use crisis accommodation and may be waiting to access public housing or another affordable housing option. Again, this is quite different to choosing to be homeless in the first instance.
Many of us aware that there is a shortage of affordable housing options in many Australian cities. There is also sometimes long waiting lists for public housing. People who may be reliant on Commonwealth income support (such as Disability or Aged pensions or Newstart allowance) will have fewer housing options because of their limited capacity to pay some market rents.
Adaptating to transience and homelessness
There may also be a very small group of people who are chronically transient and genuinely have no interest in staying in one place for any period of time. This may be because of a transient lifestyle learnt from their family of origin, as a result of a traumatic event or they may be ‘running’ from family or financial or legal problems.
Some people may be helped by legal advice and assistance
There is some evidence to suggest that people who may be trying to escape from problems they perceive to be insurmountable may be able to establish a firmer base and sustain longer term housing if someone assists them to deal with these problems. Free legal services for homeless people or financial counseling programs can help some people to deal with these issues.
‘Romanticising’ homelessness
The other reason that many people in the community may believe people ‘choose’ to be homeless is because, superficially, it can appear quite an interesting and enjoyable lifestyle. Although homelessness is often a stressful experience, to the casual observer it may not look that stressful. It may look as if people can sit around all day, drinking on the streets and mixing with other people. To those who may be heading off to work, paying bills and meeting other mundane obligations, this might look like an inviting lifestyle.
Homelessness can be very difficult
These superficial observations and romanticism of homelessness fail to acknowledge the complete picture. It misses the part when it’s raining, when there is no dry shelter, when all your possessions get wet, when it’s dark and cold and you’re alone, have no money, you’ve lost your personal papers, you’ve been bashed up just because you look like a ‘derro’, when you’ve missed out on a crisis accommodation bed because the service is full or when you’ve been told to ‘move on’ from a public space. It also fails to explain what it feels like to be treated as if you are invisible. You may live in a large city but people walk past you day after day and don’t even look at you.
Homelessness is not a choice.
Key points
- A common myth suggests that people choose to be homeless.
- People don’t usually choose to be homeless, but some do adapt to homelessness and may state they choose to remain homeless.
- Some people may be homeless but are waiting to access affordable accommodation.
- Some people ‘romanticise’ homelessness. This fails to acknowledge the stress and difficulties inherent in becoming and remaining homeless.
Exiting Chronic Homelessness
Street homelessness is visible: Being housed can be invisible
Some members of the community, including some workers and volunteers, might think that once people are chronically homeless they are likely to stay that way. Being homeless can be very public, being safely housed and well supported in the community is far less noticeable.
Sometimes there are no easy answers to homelessness
There are no easy answers to how people exit chronic homelessness.
Some people may not be able to sustain housing until they have dealt with a drug or alcohol addiction.
Some people may not be able to attempt to deal with an addiction until they are housed and in a more stable living situation.
Some people with a mental illness may not be able to sustain housing until they have adequate access to treatment that works for them.
Some people may well be very capable of managing their housing, but due to limited income, are waiting for an affordable or public housing option.
Some people who experience chronic homelessness may have developed excellent skills in coping and managing to live on the streets. They may, however, be less able or less confident in some of the skills needed to manage a home.
People who were brought up in state care, perhaps in an institutional environment, may never have had the opportunity to learn how to cook or manage other common household tasks.
Some people who may have had periods in and out of prison may also have become used to having their meals provided by other people and not learned some important independent living skills.
Other people may have successfully managed a home and family life for many years before they became homeless. They may have not used these skills for some years and have lost their confidence.
Some people may be able to live quite independently as soon as they are able to access affordable housing whilst others may require ongoing support for long periods to help them sustain housing.
Working with people experiencing long term homelessness
The type of work that homelessness workers often have to do is develop a working and trusting relationship with people who are long term homeless before being able to work together with them to find an option that suits the person.
Don’t set people up to fail
It is essential that workers don’t rush this work and ‘set people up to fail’ in an inappropriate housing situation or one which they may not yet be ready to manage.
An inappropriate housing solution may lead to a person becoming homeless again reinforcing sense of failure. It may make attempting to get off the streets in the future that much harder.
Good ‘Outreach’ work
This way of outreach working with long term homeless people is described in a seminal article by Erickson and Page (1999), titled ‘Dancing with Grace’. This article is well worth reading.
People don’t become chronically homeless overnight therefore it is unlikely that this will change in the short term. There have been a number of examples in inner city Sydney where outreach workers and workers in other homelessness services have worked long term with people and this has resulted in a sustained and supported housing outcomes. Three examples are described at the end of this module.
New service models – ‘Housing First’
There are also some new service models, developed in the United States (eg. Common Ground), that indicate that chronically homeless people can sustain housing if they are housed as soon as possible and the support they require is provided to them for as long as it is required.
Ongoing support is sometimes essential
The key ingredients are the provision of appropriate levels of support for as long as may be needed for the person and the availability of safe, secure, affordable housing. Adequate income support, community connections, health and mental health services (as required) and involvement in work or other meaningful activities are also important components that help us to all sustain our long term housing.
Key points
- There are no easy answers to chronic homelessness, everyone is different.
- Working successfully with people who are long term homeless can be long term work.
- Some people may need adequate mental health and/or drug and alcohol treatment before they may be able to sustain long term housing.
- Some people who have multiple problems and complex service needs may always require a high level of support in order to remain housed.
- Some service models suggest it is important to develop working relationships and ensure people acquire or re-acquire good living skills before they may be able to sustain housing.
- Other service models suggest that housing can be provided immediately and the support provided more easily to the person living in a stable situation.
- Important components of sustaining housing, no matter which route is taken are: availability and affordability of housing; appropriate levels of support and health care; community connections and meaningful activity.
