By putting into use the statistical definition of homelessness defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), it can be said that the situation in which a person does not have any access to suitable accommodation alternatives; other than an inadequate dwelling or a dwelling that has no tenure, or short time of tenure that is inextensible and puts restrictions on the dwellers in terms of having access to space for establishing social relations (homelessnessaustralia.org.au. 2020). This definition of homelessness by ABS takes into account the understanding of the concept of homelessness not as ‘roof’lessness, but ‘home’lessness. Its emphasis remains on the core elements of a home as per the Anglo American and European definition of home. Some other features that are considered to be a part of the essence of ‘home’ are a sense of security, stability, privacy, safety, and the ability to control the living space (homelessnessaustralia.org.au. 2020). Hence, a lack of any of these elements is also considered a state of being homeless. According to the definition of homelessness by (Mackenzie et. al., 2016) three categories have been used for recognizing diversity in terms of homelessness.

• Primary homelessness is known to be an experience of people who are surviving without any conventional mode of accommodation, for example, rough sleepers, and those who live in improvised dwellings.  
• Secondary homelessness is the experience of people who are always on the move as they transfer from one temporary shelter to another, such as emergency accommodation, youth refuges, couch surfing, etc.
• Tertiary homelessness is the experience of people who live in accommodations that are considered to be below the minimum community standards, namely, boarding housing and caravan parks (homelessnessaustralia.org.au. 2020).

Many organisations are dedicated to improving the situation of the homeless in Australia. However, the AASW (Australian Association of Social Workers) is the only national organization that consists of social workers in Australia. They are heavily involved in several community services such as health, family, child-welfare income support, and are not just restricted to the private sector- but work for the public and non-profit sectors as well. Many of the members are directly involved in the planning or delivery of housing support for the homeless community.

Since housing brings along with it an immense amount of stress that is directly proportional to the health, education, employment, along with the emotional wellbeing of people and their families, it is the sheer determination and sense of dedication that enables the social workers to work with individuals or groups, and communities. By doing so, they can achieve equity in terms of access to every social, economic, and political resource, along with housing resources of Australia (Horsell & Zufferey, 2017).  

One of the main reasons that contribute to the ever-growing problem of homelessness is poverty. These two issues are highly interrelated. Other factors include several social issues, namely lack of proper and relevant education, opportunities for employment, diminishing physical health, malnutrition, and high risks of substance abuse that make the homeless community even more vulnerable. The key issues identified are the existence of various perspectives on the topic, such as the causes of homelessness, and the differences based on gender in the community of homeless people, along with the process of victimization of the homeless population (Heerde, et. al., 2020). The themes of discussion include the accommodation and housing issues along with the concept of homelessness, the health and the needs of the community in general. Differentiation based on the two approaches towards homelessness- “linear” service model, and “permanent supportive housing” has also been discussed (Horsell & Zufferey, 2017). The Australian government’s support organizations have been undergoing immense change as noted in the literature in the name of “public sponsorship” that has been developed in various developed countries that also include the business incubators, breaks in taxes along with subsidies, and the public venture capital. The underexplored mechanism reveals the fact that sponsorship that affects any organization of the propensity of adopting any new practices.

The current roles and functions played by these organizations such as Homelessness Australia, Mission Australia, StreetSmart Australia, Salvation Army, and St. Vincent De Paul Society, etc. have been identifying and addressing the homeless community with the help of linear service models. According to this model, any homeless person is allocated to enter an Emergency Shelter; there, the person would receive a place for sleeping, and counseling services along with food. In terms of behavior such as signs of mental stability and substance addiction, the person will then be moved to a longer-term housing program known as transitional housing. As per the results of the above steps, the person would then move to an independent or subsidized housing facility. However, the homeless service organizations shifted from this linear model to plan that was effective in the long term, known “permanent supportive housing” (Anthony & Walsh, 2017). Homelessness is also a social issue in the contemporary society and for many decades, the federal government has been the sole source in supporting the various non-profit organizations in serving the homeless community with food, shelter, and other services. However, in spite of the sudden increase in the amount of billions of dollars in improving the experience of homeless community, there has not been much significant changes in the past thirty five years. Although the public policies and practices regarding the homeless people have undergone immense changes, the federal government’s investment has increased over 100% from the year 2008 to 2017 (Anthony & Walsh, 2017). There are heavy influences on the emphasis of “permanent supportive housing as well as shelters that involve the long-term subsidies and very commonly less stringent restrictions on the behavior of the client along with the counseling services instead of the traditional as well as short-term approaches that are based on emergency shelter. Various social agencies that include PIAC (Public Interest Advocacy Centre) are suitable in terms of legal and social strategies that can be devised with the implementation for ensuring the homeless and rough sleepers have not been facing any issues that are related to poverty and are provided with tents that are meant for accommodation (Anthony & Walsh, 2017).

A multi-disciplinary model that has been developed by Parsell, Clarke, and Vosina, positive outcomes have been recorded with the majority of the homeless community who are rough sleepers, have been able to access as well as register someone who is a general practitioner. The incentives earned have also proved to help deal with the issues of vulnerability in the forthcoming days as well. Many forms of mechanism, motivation, etc., have been applied by the World Health Organization for removing the hurdles that derive the rough sleepers who have been facing numerous health facilities.

The target of the various approaches and perspectives that have been taken up by both governmental and non-governmental organizations are not directed towards eliminating the causes that contribute towards rendering people homeless. The failure to do so makes the attempts somewhat futile (Parsell & Watts, 2017). Since it has been recorded that even with an immense increase in the funds that are dedicated to the improvement of facilities of the homeless community, the conditions of the homeless people are far away from any development, especially in the long term. The distinction based on mental stability and indulging in substance abuse also have various adverse effects as many times people are forced to become homeless due to mental health issues while indulging in substance is to escape the harsh reality of poverty and other problems such as lack of employment opportunities. The attempt to make a difference should be at all levels, such as individual, meso, or macro (Parsell & Watts, 2017). The reality is, however, different since the causes of poverty and unemployment have not been addressed. On further analysis, many faces of homelessness in Australia have been registered. Although the majority of the homeless community are men, there is also a significant increase in the number of women as well as children who are living on streets or in transitional housing facilities (Heerde, et. al., 2020). Another surprising factor is that many people are the verge of being rendered homeless. Many of the homeless people have houses and families but are trying to escape unfavorable situations. Women and minors are many times, victims of domestic violence. Hence almost half of the women who are forced to be homeless have been escaping for situations that are abusive for themselves and the children. The social services that are meant to help these victims are too few in comparison to the number of victims. Hence, when searching for shelters, the chances of being turned away from them are always high, as they do not have proper housing to accommodate all the people. The young generation, too, at times find themselves to be on the roads and on the path of being homeless. They also experience various domestic violence situations. Instances of immediate and long-term effects of unemployment, mental illness, breakdown of the family unit, drug abuse, and alcohol abuse, all contribute towards the growing experience of homelessness (Heerde, et. al., 2020).

Extreme changes in the price index and too less choices for those at the lower end of the market have been recognised as the leading cause of homelessness. Adding to the situation the problem of negative growth of wages, along with an influx in the insecurity of the job market, more number of people become vulnerable of becoming homeless. Another barrier or hurdle for people is the growth of new overseas migration in the recent times. 2004 to 2015 have witnessed the change in the percentage by 30%, from 138,800 to 181,050. The result of this change in numbers has led to a change of stock of housing that was initially 22% (Steen, 2018). Since the number of migrators are considered to be a part of the population numbers, the living accommodations that have been emptied for moving to Australia does not make any contributions in the process of filtering.

The most important factor that should be the attention needs to be moved from pop-up beds in the car parks, or mobile laundries, and washrooms, although they have the best intention; the society should immediately end the situation of homelessness for anyone who is sleeping rough (Beadnell, 2018). The current situation can neither be termed to be as a utopia, nor can it be termed as unrealistic. Based on evidence from exhaustive research and collection of evidences, it have been found that the current situation of homelessness in the capital of Australia along with the regional cities can be permanently ended- this also includes those community members who have been victims of chronic homelessness. The research program also includes those who are rough sleepers. The results from research shows that those who have been supported by the Housing First Programs (a number between 80%-90%) for exiting their current state of rough sleeping have been able to sustain their accommodation and living arrangements for a span of more than 12 months (Steen, 2018). However, there are three things factors that need to be addressed- first one includes the street assertiveness in outreaching which can be systematically identify as well as help to get the people off the street. Some of the models that have been implemented include health worker and clinicians reaching out for helping to build a bridge in order to overcome the barriers related to health for those who are out on the streets. The second critical aspect includes a change in perspective that allows people access to housing facility as a tent and not as a client who is nothing but a part of a conditional program. The goal of this step should be an increase in the accessibility as well as availability of housing and accommodation on a long-term basis (Steen, 2018). This form of availability should be aimed at in order to ensure that the outreach has to offer exactly what the people need. The third aspect consists of a flexible model that needs to be integrated in the system of social support for addressing the issue of health care once they are living in their accommodations (Beadnell, 2018).

The support that is on-going should consist of a driving force that is driven by the one who lives as a tenant. Instead, most of them are mandated, and only available for a very short period of time. A lot of monetary loss takes place in responding to the aftermath of the failure of the policies when the systems do not address and help solve the issue of enabling rough sleepers to have proper access to housing.

One of the consequences is observed in the increasing dependency of the homeless community on the goodwill of volunteers since they are capable of providing them with bedding as well as facilities of washing. In this situation, the charities along with the volunteers who are motivated and hold good positions possess the agency that can push the government to enable a future that includes provision of housing for all Australians. As per the research and evidence found in the government data, the administrative body saves $13,100 for every individual when the issue of homelessness is addressed by providing the community with permanent support of housing (Horsell & Zufferey, 2017). It is also ironic that when the individuals are living in proper houses, their needs to use the criminal justice as well as health care services are dramatically decreased in comparison to those who are out on the streets.

Reference

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Anthony, T., & Walsh, T. (2017). SUBMISSION TO THE LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA IN RESPONSE TO THE ‘HOMELESS PERSONS’CONSULTATION PAPER

Beadnell, C. (2018). RISE OF HOMELESSNESS. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal, 26(1), 16-21.

Heerde, J. A., Bailey, J. A., Toumbourou, J. W., Rowland, B., & Catalano, R. F. (2020). Prevalence of homelessness and co-occurring problems: A comparison of young adults in Victoria, Australia and Washington State, United States. Children and Youth Services Review, 109, 104692.

Herault, N., & Johnson, G. (2016). Homelessness in Australia: Service reform and research in the 21st century. European Journal of Homelessness _ Volume, 10(3).

homelessnessaustralia.org.au. (2020). What is homelessness | Homelessness Australia. Homelessnessaustralia.org.au. Retrieved 12 March 2020, from https://www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au/about/what-homelessness.

Horsell, C., & Zufferey, C. (2017). Homelessness in Australia. In Faces of Homelessness in the Asia Pacific (pp. 133-145). Routledge.

Mackenzie, D., Flatau, P., Steen, A., & Thielking, M. (2016). The cost of youth homelessness in Australia research briefing.

Parsell, C., & Watts, B. (2017). Charity and justice: a reflection on new forms of homelessness provision in Australia. European Journal of Homelessness _ Volume, 11(2).

Steen, A. (2018). The many costs of homelessness. The Medical Journal of Australia, 208(4), 167-168.

Zufferey, C. (2016). Homelessness in western cities. In Social Work and the City (pp. 215-233). Palgrave Macmillan, London.