1. This report analyses the experiences of 4,252 homeless people and 934 people who were at risk of homelessness.  The research was carried out by the Centre for Applied Social Research at RMIT University, HomeGround Services and the Salvation Army Crisis Services.

2.     The research found that 64 per cent of people had been homeless for one year or longer; 16 per cent had been homeless for three to 11 months; and 20 per cent had been homeless for less than three months.  In the inner city many people are chronically homeless.

3.      In the inner suburbs boarding houses have become an integral part of the system of emergency accommodation and welfare agencies often provide vouchers for boarding houses.  In boarding houses, newly homeless people are introduced to long-term homeless people who often have a range of other problems.  This enables newly homeless people to develop new social networks and become involved in the homeless sub-culture.  In this sample, 85 per cent of the homeless had been in boarding houses.

4.      One female respondent commented on what it felt like to go to a well-known boarding house for the first time:

It was a shock to the system … It was a place where you’re too scared to stick your nose outside your door because there’s people arguing, there’s junkies everywhere, there’s needles everywhere, it was horrible … There were death threats, rape threats … (Jamie, 42, single).

Another respondent talked about another inner city boarding house that is used by welfare agencies.  She found it:

. . . gross . . . dilapidated . . . run down.  I had a couple of incidents happen where someone woke me up about 2am by banging on the door.  I was too scared to open it (Susan, 22, single parent).

The harsh reality is that welfare agencies often refer homeless people to boarding houses because there is no alternative but the streets.

5.      Two thirds of the long-term homeless in this sample had slept rough.  Sleeping rough has a direct impact on physical appearance.  John said:

 … I looked like a real rough nut … didn’t brush my hair, never had showers.  I looked like a street person I suppose … I looked disgusting and everyone could see I’d changed.  I ended up staying in this building.  It had nothing in it, it had a mattress, it had no electricity (John, 27, couple).

Tom, 32, said of one squat:

. . . we had no power or nothing … we had to do everything by candlelight, so we just sat in that little room and had fuck all blankets … just one mattress and trying to keep ourselves warm.

6.      There is a link between substance use and homelessness.  Two-fifths (43 per cent) of this sample had problems with substance use.  However, the researchers found that 66 per cent had developed their problem after they became homelessness.  Some people do enter the homeless population because of substance use issues, but most people engage in substance use after they have become homeless.  

7.      The researchers found that 30 per cent of the homeless had mental health issues.  However, just over half (53 per cent) developed mental health problems after becoming homeless.

Recommendations

1        Transitional accommodation

Boarding houses are widely used as emergency accommodation in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide.  Putting vulnerable people into boarding houses increases the possibility they will become entrenched in the homeless subculture.  State governments have to provide more SAAP/THM accommodation and more affordable housing if they want welfare agencies to divert homeless people away from boarding houses.  There is an urgent need for more transitional (THM) accommodation in Inner Melbourne.

2        Substance use and mental health services

There are many people in the homeless population with substance use issues and mental health problems and more than half have developed these problems after becoming homeless.  Clients often present to housing agencies seeking a referral to a detoxification facility or wanting support with mental health issues.  This is always a critical moment and it is crucial to get the right sort of assistance quickly.  However, there are long waiting-list for these services.  People become disillusioned and the opportunity for intervention is lost.  There should be increased funding so that these agencies can respond more effectively.

3        Early intervention

In Australia, the debate about early intervention has focused on young people and significant new resources have been directed towards early intervention by most state governments.  The Commonwealth Government has funded the Reconnect program that provides assistance to young people who are either ‘at risk’ or in the early stages of homelessness.  However, there were few early intervention services in the past.  The mean age of homeless people in this sample was 28, but 39 per cent of respondents had first experienced homelessness when they were 18 or younger.  When strategies are not in place to assist homeless teenagers to reunite with their family or make the transition to independent living, then some teenagers make the transition to chronic homelessness.  Early intervention initiatives should be continued and strengthened.

4        Long-term support

Three-quarters (76 per cent) of the long-term homeless in this sample had been homeless on two or more occasions.  It is difficult for people who have developed substance use or mental health problems to stay out of homelessness.  In some cases, they need ongoing support for a number of years to assist them return to stable accommodation.  The Support Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) in Victoria currently assumes that most homeless people will need a maximum of 13 weeks support.  A more realistic approach to the provision of long-term support is necessary.  Unless governments fund ongoing support to help formerly homeless people to remain housed, it is clear that some people will experiences further episodes of homelessness.  When this happens the costs to the individual and to the community are high.

5   Political will

Agencies provide valuable assistance to homeless people, but there are not enough resources to change the lives of all of the people who contact agencies for assistance.  It should come as no surprise that the lack of adequate income and affordable housing remain the most significant structural barriers that homeless people face.  The challenge facing all of us is to foster the political will to address these structural problems.