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This paper explores migrant Black African youths' experiences of looking for and finding work in Newcastle, a deindustrializing Australian city. Data for this paper were drawn from interviews conducted with young people who migrated to Australia as temporary and permanent residents. Drawing on concepts of coloniality, racialization, bodywork, and hidden labor, this paper demonstrates how, when looking for work, participants' names get attached to their racialized bodies—a situation which deems them as suitable or not for specific kinds of work. Their strategies of finding work differ according to their migration status; that is, temporary residents draw on their personal networks, whereas some permanent residents with full citizenship rights rely on social welfare support services to find work. However, irrespective of the different strategies used to find work, they all end up doing jobs that they described as "work which others do not wish to do." I argue that these experiences re‐articulate the coloniality of labor because, as workers in these jobs, they play a crucial role in the economic transformation taking place in the city due to deindustrialization. This is not merely because they form part of the workforce responsible for working in unwanted jobs, but because they are also consumers of Newcastle's emerging welfare support and educational services sectors. The paper contributes to an understanding of how race shapes the labor market experiences of racialized youth in deindustrializing labor markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops knowledge of the logistics of moving house amongst older people living in insecure housing. These people typically do not move once and settle into a new house, but face ongoing moves driven by factors including housing affordability, tenure conditions and eviction. The paper identifies four domains of experience faced by people undergoing cumulative, involuntary residential moves: the material (process of relocating oneself and possessions), economic (costs of moving house), embodied (physical experience) and affective (how relocation is experienced and felt). The logistics of relocation are examined through the experiences of single older women living in insecure housing in the greater Sydney region of Australia. The accounts of these women foreground the costs and challenges of insecure housing that are a consequence of relocation. Conceptually this work contributes to understandings of mobility-based disadvantage in older age through drawing out the ways that the logistics of moving house – of relocating oneself and possessions – contribute in distinct ways to mobility-based disadvantage through risks to identity and senses of home. Empirically it addresses gaps in gerontological and housing scholarship through developing knowledge of the logistics and experiences of ongoing, involuntary residential moves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This scoping review investigates the characteristics included in the Behavioural Model for Vulnerable Populations applied to people experiencing homelessness. This review underpins the development of a novel tool to assess the health needs and capacity of people experiencing homelessness to access health care in Australia. Included papers were primary studies, written in English, published from 2000 onwards, participants aged 18 years and over and experiencing homelessness. Databases searched were CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed, between March to June 2020. The Joanna Briggs Appraisal criteria were used to quality appraise included studies. Fifteen papers met the eligibility criteria and were included. The total participant sample size was 42,152. Provision of professional support and case management were significant factors in increasing access to care for people experiencing homelessness. Findings suggest that the Behavioural Model for Vulnerable Populations is a valuable tool in identifying health needs and predicting health service use. Included studies indicate that using the Behavioural Model for Vulnerable Populations can facilitate provision of targeted health services to people experiencing homelessness by identifying unmet needs. The findings of this review are valuable to health service design and policy, to increase access to care for people experiencing homelessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Despite a significant evidence base illustrating the issue of housing insecurity and homelessness experienced by women over the age of 55 in Australia [Pawson et al., 2018; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 2021b; Mission Australia 2022; Per Capita 2022], there continues to be a knowledge gap in the representation of older women in current Federal and New South Wales (NSW) State Government housing and homelessness policies and initiatives. This paper aims to identify the extent and ways in which older women were represented (or not represented) in the Federal and NSW State housing and homelessness policies in 2022. Design/methodology/approach: Of the total primary and supplementary Federal and NSW State policy and strategy documents, 16 were collected through a systematic review and then analysed using a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework and feminist lens to explore quotes, phrases, keywords and language choices which suggested prevalent themes, rhetorical devices and dominant discourses. Findings: Three significant themes were identified by the analysis (1) "relinquished responsibility", (2) "inconsistent rhetoric" and (3) "homogenising and ideological cherry picking". These themes presented the authors with three main discussion points to inform policy reform which we have addressed in relation to policy implications, evidence-based policy decision-making and impacts on older women. Originality/value: The combination of a systematic review with CDA provides a unique approach to exploring homelessness policy for older women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Forgotten Australians" are the estimated half a million children who were placed in institutional care in Australia from the 1920s to the 1980s. Increasing numbers are entering older age but many are poorly positioned to age well and with the supports they need. This is often because the lasting effects of childhood institutional care have contributed to poor housing outcomes, including housing insecurity, reliance on social housing, prevalence of rental stress and experiences of homelessness. This paper presents a review of the evidence on the housing experiences and outcomes of people who spent time in childhood institutional care. The evidence review was complemented by qualitative interviews with community service practitioners and representatives of advocacy groups. Based on the prior evidence and fieldwork, we identify data and service gaps that are likely to undermine the capacity of the housing and aged care sectors to improve the care and supports available for Forgotten Australians. We suggest potential improvements to service delivery for people who experienced institutional care as children and directions for further research. This paper contributes to a stronger evidence base around the housing and care needs of Forgotten Australians in mid‐ and later life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper was to assess the phenomena of homelessness and inadequate housing in South Africa and Australia. The paper used a review of literature method. Findings show poor quality building materials, many people in need of housing, long waiting lists and slow delivery, and the challenges governments face in implementing and managing housing programmes effectively and efficiently are among the problems associated with the provision of adequate housing, according to the. All these factors have significantly contributed to both the proliferation of informal settlements and ever-increasing numbers of homeless population. Evidently, the successful implementation of housing programmes is hampered by a lack of political will and insufficient commitment on the part of governments to fulfil their obligations with respect to ensuring that all citizens have access to decent and adequate housing. There is a need for shifts in policy towards a more holistic approach that also includes measures to promote empowerment through selfemployment and other income-related provisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to assess the health, social and economic outcomes associated with rough sleeping among women and compare those outcomes with those of (1) men sleeping rough, and (2) women experiencing other forms of homelessness (such as being housed in temporary supported accommodation due to family and domestic violence). The paper analyses survey data using the Vulnerability Index‐Service Prioritization Decision Analysis Tool (VI‐SPDAT) collected from 2735 women experiencing homelessness and 3124 men sleeping rough in Australian cities from 2010 to 2017. We find that women sleeping rough report poorer physical and mental health outcomes and greater problematic drug and or alcohol use relative to both men sleeping rough and women experiencing other types of homelessness (all p < 0.5). Women sleeping rough report significantly higher levels of crisis service utilisation (Β = 17.9, SE = 3.9, p < 0.001) and interactions with police in the previous 6 months (Β = 1.9, SE = 0.3, p < 0.001) than women experiencing homelessness not sleeping rough. Women sleeping rough also report greater healthcare utilisation, and, therefore, healthcare costs, than women experiencing homelessness not sleeping rough and men sleeping rough (all p < 0.05). From a policy perspective, the evidence presented in this paper supports a social determinants approach that moves from addressing symptoms of poor health outcomes associated with homelessness to preventing and ending homelessness with a particular focus on the life trajectories of women. Integrated services and homelessness strategies need to be developed through a gender lens, providing women sleeping rough with tailored permanent housing with wrap‐around supportive housing to address poor health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it proposes a critical posthumanist orientation to social work as an approach to address the impediments to care experienced by interspecies families. Secondly, it challenges the anthropocentric assumptions that underpin this exclusion of nonhuman family members in human services disciplines such as social work. Design/methodology/approach: This article presents primary data from a qualitative study into social work and other human services practice in the family violence and homelessness sectors in the state of Victoria, Australia. Findings: Social workers undertook companion animal-inclusive practice to counter vulnerability to interspecies families caused by gender- and species-based violence, and by homelessness. Gender- and species-based violence was exacerbated by a lack of refuge options, and contributed to women considering their companion animals to be their children. The vulnerability that homelessness brought upon interspecies families was amplified by stigma within and external to social work and related professions, and the impediment that experiences of homelessness had on being able to provide care for their nonhuman family members. These factors shaped practice with interspecies families. Scope for future practice was also identified. Research limitations/implications: The research findings can be used to inform policy change that includes consideration of nonhuman family members, as well as critical posthuman program design in social work education. Originality/value: Companion animal-inclusive practice with interspecies families in social work is an under researched area, and there is little empirical data available on the nature of this work in Australia. This paper addresses this gap by centring social workers' own accounts of practice. This paper has scope to contribute to education in social work and other welfare fields, with the potential to empower students to challenge assumptions about social work being solely focused on human-centred concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth studies has called for new ways of thinking about transitions for young people. This paper argues for new ways of understanding times during transition, particularly for young people with complex support needs. Young people (16–26 years) with complex support needs are those who experience multiple forms of social disadvantage, and who depend on siloed services to support them. Complex support needs are created by the intersection between a person and a complex system of services including education, health, disability, health, mental health, homelessness, youth justice and child protection. In this context, transition has been understood as a physical movement between and within separate services. Using the arts based method of body mapping with 31 young people with complex support needs from three Eastern states of Australia, this paper reports on how young people themselves experience transition. Young people identified three distinct times during transition that resonated with existing literature on critical moments, liminal periods and meaning making times. However, these times were not sequential or singular, nor were they a reflection of service transitions. Instead, this paper contends that times during transition were not as much about moving forward, as about simultaneously living with complex and chaotic pasts and presents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia, like many high-income countries, food insecurity is associated with increased risks of chronic diseases, sub-optimal development outcomes in children, and mental health conditions including depression and anxiety. Food insecure households employ a range of strategies, including the use of food charity, to help alleviate hunger and meet cost of living pressures. The aim of this paper is to investigate the lived experience of food insecurity for welfare-dependent households, and to examine these experiences within a structural violence framework. Structural violence investigations seek to understand the distal causal factors that can help explain poor health patterns and inequities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with customers (n = 78) of food pantries, soup kitchens, and community development programs (June 2018 to January 2019) in the state of Victoria, Australia. Thematic analysis established evidence of controlling, demeaning and depriving practices in the interactions between the participants and the services and staff at national welfare providers and food charities. The same providers and charities nominally set up to address the exact situations in which participants found themselves. The findings of this study suggest that food and social services are an on-the-ground setting through which structural violence is enacted and experienced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homelessness is a significant social problem across advanced capitalist societies, with enduring effects on those who experience it. Consequently, detailed enquiry into people's lived experiences of homelessness is critical to enhance understanding and inform more effective responses to the problem. This paper presents findings of a study examining nine individuals' experiences of homelessness in Australia. Narrative analysis foregrounds the ontological dimensions and implications of their experiences, demonstrating how their homeless pathways were characterised by enduring feelings of ontological insecurity. Discussion of these findings highlights how participants' attempts to overcome homelessness and attain ontological security represent an ongoing struggle, shaped by individual biographies and the structural constraints within contemporary Australian society. The paper argues that further consideration of the material and non-material dimensions of ontological security across all phases of homeless pathways can enhance understanding of homelessness and inform efforts to develop more effective responses to this complex social problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a world where opportunities are increasingly limited, young people are encouraged to become resilient and entrepreneurial in their pursuit of the traditional markers of adulthood. Social enterprise and community organisations dedicated to supporting young people seek to recast these expectations by providing supportive work and training environments and cultures and encouraging young people to find passion and hope in economic conditions that have failed to deliver the security and wellbeing that was promised. These organisations identify and respond to complex issues like unemployment and disengagement, homelessness and housing precarity, and provide personal development, support, education, training and employment options. In this paper, we explore how youth-focused social enterprise and community organisation programmes shape dispositions of resilience and entrepreneurialism. Drawing on the work of Butler and Anthanasiou and Dey and Mason, we argue that social organisations re-imagine the 'social therapeutics' that young people may require in relation to their participation in neoliberal forms of governmentality. We hope to challenge conceptualisations of such interventions as purely bounded by neoliberal and pro-capitalist therapeutic logics, by identifying the complex and sometimes contradictory goals that community organisations and social enterprises work towards in supporting young people to navigate a precarious economic landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is increasingly recognized in Australia that single, older women are particularly vulnerable to housing-related stress and homelessness. This paper reports on a qualitative study that explored the housing experiences of single, older, non-homeowning women in regional New South Wales, Australia. Interviews were conducted with 47 participants living independently in precarious housing. This paper focuses upon the housing preferences expressed by the participants. A feminist standpoint perspective was adopted and thematic analysis was employed to interrogate the data. Findings showed the women's primary preference is security of tenure in housing that is affordable and suited to their needs. Further, they want to feel they have autonomy in the private sphere. Over the participants' life course, twin discourses of patriarchy and neoliberalism were identified as influential in shaping social arrangements, both in Australia and other developed countries. These findings may assist policy-makers in planning future housing for this ageing cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homelessness services and policy have historically tended to be organised by an explicitly conditional logic, wherein people experiencing homelessness must prove their "housing readiness" before accessing settled housing. This model has been robustly challenged in recent decades by "housing‐led" approaches that ostensibly eschew conditionality and prioritise the rapid rehousing of people experiencing homelessness. Various countries now include housing‐led approaches in the national policy frameworks, including Australia, which overhauled its approach to homelessness in 2008, and Scotland, where a housing‐led approach is supported by a legal right to housing for homeless households. Notwithstanding this policy shift, conditionality remains an enduring feature of responses to homelessness in both jurisdictions. This paper sheds light on this phenomenon by comparing the Australian experience with that of Scotland. We demonstrate how conditionality remains a feature of both jurisdictions; however, there is greater effort in Scotland to identify and minimise conditionality, whereas in Australia it is able to persist relatively unchallenged. We conclude with some reflections on what Australia can learn from Scotland's relative success, highlighting the importance of a national‐level policy framework and an adequate affordable housing supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a context of increasing welfare conditionality, governmental responses to homelessness in Australia continue to be influenced by neoliberal discourses of personal responsibility. This is reflected in their emphasis on individualised interventions and lack of attention to structural drivers of homelessness. Research examining these issues has primarily focused on policies and practices aiming to responsibilise individuals' conduct, and less so on how those with lived experiences view and apportion responsibility for homelessness. In recognition of this gap, this paper reports findings from a qualitative study examining the views of responsibility expressed by nine individuals with lived experiences of homelessness. Findings demonstrate that participants recognised their own responsibilities, yet also highlighted significant constraints on individual agency associated with being homeless and emphasised unmet responsibilities of governments. Our analysis demonstrates how participants' views contrast with neoliberal discourses of personal responsibility, and problematise notions of "fair reciprocity" on which they are premised. We argue their views can be interpreted as supporting alternative notions of shared responsibility for homelessness. These findings have implications for policy and practice and highlight the need to further engage with lived experience perspectives to advance more effective and socially just responses to homelessness in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Families experiencing homelessness are an increasing phenomenon in Australia. However, the question of why some families living in poverty and disadvantage become homeless and others do not is not well explained in the literature. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), this paper investigates how recent "shock" or crisis events, poor health and financial stress interact with social capital and emotional well-being to affect housing security for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian families living in poverty. The analysis draws on 307 cases (individuals with dependent and resident children) from Journeys Home, a longitudinal survey of extremely disadvantaged Australian welfare recipients. The results are explained within a critical realist understanding of depth ontology, stratification, emergence and the interaction between structure and agency. Hobfoll's conservation of resources theory provides a framework for thinking about homelessness as a severe form of poverty and resource depletion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people transitioning from out-of-home care, commonly called care leavers, are known to be a vulnerable group. Many experience poor outcomes leading them to become homeless or involved in the criminal justice system. Yet compared to most other Anglophone democracies, Australia lacks mandatory assistance for care leavers beyond 18 years of age. There are also major legislative, policy, and program differences between care leaver entitlements in the individual states and territories. This paper argues that the Commonwealth Government should introduce a nationally consistent extended care system that would require all jurisdictions to provide a minimum standard of support until at least 21 years of age. A uniform set of extended care standards is even more vital in the context of COVID-19. IMPLICATIONS Many Australian care leavers have poor life chances despite recent advances in the support programs provided by the states and territories. A nationally consistent extended care program is likely to progress improved opportunities and outcomes for care leavers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to report on the findings of a qualitative study that explored the views of 53 service providers assisting Indigenous young people (known in Australia as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth) transitioning from out-of-home care (OOHC) in Australia. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach was adopted involving semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 53 representatives of state and territory government departments, non-government organisation service providers and Aboriginal community-controlled organisations (ACCOs) across Australia. The project was designed to gain the perspectives of those working within the system and their views on how it interacts with Indigenous care leavers. Interview questions aimed to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of the leaving care support systems available to this cohort, as well as the key challenges facing service providers in supporting them. Finally, the study aimed to make recommendations for policy development in this area and identify potential best practice service responses. Findings: The study found that the OOHC service systems continue to fail Indigenous care leavers, their families and communities. Study findings revealed that Indigenous care-leavers face substantial challenges and that the support systems for those leaving OOHC are often culturally insensitive and ineffective. Many Indigenous OOHC leavers lacked the supports they needed to develop safe and ongoing relationships with their traditional Country, family and communities. To promote more positive transitions and outcomes, effective practice responses were identified, including culturally safe programmes and proportional funding for ACCOs to advance greater self-determination. Originality/value: This research is the first national study in Australia to examine the specific transition from care pathways and experiences of Indigenous young people. The findings add to the limited existing knowledge on Indigenous care leavers globally and should inform practice and policy innovations with this cohort in Australia and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Co-existing health conditions and frequent hospital usage are pervasive in homeless populations. Without a home to be discharged to, appropriate discharge care and treatment compliance are difficult. The Medical Respite Centre (MRC) model has gained traction in the USA, but other international examples are scant. The purpose of this paper is to address this void, presenting findings from an evaluation of The Cottage, a small short-stay respite facility for people experiencing homelessness attached to an inner-city hospital in Melbourne, Australia.Design/methodology/approach This mixed methods study uses case studies, qualitative interview data and hospital administrative data for clients admitted to The Cottage in 2015. Hospital inpatient admissions and emergency department presentations were compared for the 12-month period pre- and post-The Cottage.Findings Clients had multiple health conditions, often compounded by social isolation and homelessness or precarious housing. Qualitative data and case studies illustrate how The Cottage couples medical care and support in a home-like environment. The average stay was 8.8 days. There was a 7 per cent reduction in the number of unplanned inpatient days in the 12-months post support.Research limitations/implications The paper has some limitations including small sample size, data from one hospital only and lack of information on other services accessed by clients (e.g. housing support) limit attribution of causality.Social implications MRCs provide a safe environment for individuals to recuperate at a much lower cost than inpatient admissions.Originality/value There is limited evidence on the MRC model of care outside of the USA, and the findings demonstrate the benefits of even shorter-term respite post-discharge for people who are homeless. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes and evaluates the application of an explicitly critical realist methodology to a quantitative doctoral research project on the causes of family homelessness in Australia. It is offered as an example of a critical realist approach to empirical research, in the hope that it will provide ideas and motivation to other scholars seeking a critical realist foundation to their research practice. The paper demonstrates the role of critical realism in informing and defining the analytical and theoretical approach I took. It shows how the philosophy influenced the foundations and practical development of my work. It describes the process of moving from empirical data to theoretical models by stepping through and describing each stage. Finally, I offer an assessment of how critical realism changed, enabled, improved, and liberated my project; that is, what advantage critical realism offered to explaining a complex social phenomenon and crisis in contemporary Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of digital disparities have focused on socio-spatial differences across neighbourhoods, regions and other kinds of places, but the same place can produce different experiences of connectivity, a phenomenon labelled 'variable geometries of connection' by Crang, Crosbie and Graham (2006: 2551) [2006. Crang, M., Crosbie, T., & Graham, S. Variable geometries of connection: Urban digital divides and the uses of information technology. Urban Studies, 43(13), 2551–2570]. In this paper, I draw on research on the role of mobile phones and the internet for people experiencing homelessess in Australia to suggest that dependence on smartphones for access to information and communication when homeless, in combination with the design and regulation of urban spaces, structures the mobilities of homeless young people, resulting in distinctive connectivity needs and barriers. Homeless young people overcome many of their immediate difficulties of digital access through practices of 'survival infrastructuring', a term I propose to describe the practices of marginalised actors to make their media work in the face of uneven, precarious and costly connectivity. Highlighting these connectivity experiences and practices may help efforts to take action on digital exclusion and assist homeless young people by taking into account differential access needs within specific spatial and social contexts. I make this argument drawing on findings from two studies carried out between 2014 and 2016 on the access and use of the internet and mobile phones among homeless Australians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we apply statistical matching methods to a national longitudinal dataset of Australians facing housing insecurity to estimate the impacts of social housing on employment, education, health, incarceration and homelessness. We find social housing in Australia provides an important 'safety net' protecting people from homelessness. However, at least in the short run, individuals in social housing have similar outcomes in terms of employment, education, physical and mental health, and incarceration to other comparable individuals not in social housing. These are the first estimates of causal impacts of social housing, simultaneously estimating impacts on a range of shelter and non-shelter outcomes highlighted as important by the broader social housing literature. They also provide an interesting contrast with the existing US estimates. These results are potentially due to strict targeting of individuals into social housing and that they represent the average effect across individuals who may experience substantially different impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conditionality in Australia's welfare state has sustained a significant academic critique, including the critique published in this journal. In this Special Issue of the Australian Journal of Social Issues, we contribute to the existing critical literature on welfare conditionality. This Special Issue aimed to provide empirical scrutiny into welfare reform and conditionality in Australia. The articles extend our understanding of welfare conditionality's underpinnings and its lived effects. These case studies illuminate the aspects of welfare conditionality that have not received enough attention: the role of technology, the question of mobility, the relationship with housing and the little thought given to the state's role in mutual obligation. What is clear is that the individualisation of structural problems is not just a theoretical and political misstep ripe for critique, but leads to the formulation of policies that impact marginalised people's capacity to shape life on their own terms. Through different empirical foci, all papers in this Special Issue demonstrate how welfare conditionality is put forward as a solution to address the consequences of structural disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loneliness research has tended to focus on mainstream and older populations despite evidence that non‐mainstream groups, like those experiencing homelessness, may experience loneliness differently. Limited existing research indicates that (a) people who have been homeless experience loneliness as multidimensional (as a pluralistic, non‐unidimensional emotion, experienced specific to lacked relationships) and (b) mainstream loneliness scales may be inappropriate for this group. The current study piloted and appraised the feasibility the short version of the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults (SELSA‐S) among 129 Australian adults with a lived experience of homelessness. Exploratory Factor Analysis and an observational questionnaire appraisal were used to assess factorial and content validity and showed the measure did not fit this sample as well as in mainstream samples. Removal of items that participants found difficult to comprehend/answer improved the factorial fit of the scale. In conclusion, the SELSA‐S may be inappropriate for measuring loneliness among people who have experienced homelessness. Further research needs to explore the potentially different structure of loneliness among marginalised groups so that a better understanding of loneliness can be reached. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current study explored the experiences and aspirations of a cohort of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults with neurocognitive disability residing in a homeless shelter in regional Queensland, Australia. Neurocognitive disability (NCD) refers to any acquired disorder or injury to the brain where the primary clinical deficit is in cognitive function. Method: The data reported on in this paper emerged from a broader study that aimed to understand the extent and nature of neurocognitive disability amongst homeless Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The broader study found high levels of NCD which impacted on people's ability to participate in society. As part of the study, qualitative information was sought regarding participant life experiences. A culturally safe and acceptable structure of "past, present and future" was applied to open-ended questions. Results: Thematic analysis of the data identified four broad themes of i) normalisation of illness and disability; ii) trauma and loss; iii) socioeconomic disadvantage; and iv) hope and disempowerment. This paper reports on these themes and experiences, which occurred across the life span, intersected with NCD, and contributed to what we have termed 'complex disablement' amongst this cohort. Conclusions: While causal links between life experience, disability and disablement are not always clear, our findings suggest that attempts to address homelessness must engage with this complexity. The application of holistic, intersectoral supports, which encompass culturally informed, community driven approaches are needed. Understanding the impacts of individual and intergenerational trauma is crucial to safe and effective service provision for this cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A contribution to the growth in data use is the need to access a wide range of services on the internet. In this paper, I examine the implications for people experiencing homelessness of data use necessitated by large-scale digitisation of government services and other everyday interactions. The findings from a published study are reviewed and used in conjunction with reports, websites, and inclusion policy literature to support a discussion of the impacts of whole-of-government digital transformation agendas in Australia and internationally. I argue online services drive demand for smartphones and push up data consumption, creating new burdens of cost and connectivity for people who are homeless, who rely heavily on the mobile for online access. I argue for a systematic approach to address access and affordability barriers in a data-driven society, including updating universal service measures, expanding low-income subsidies to include home broadband and mobile data and voice, and connecting inclusion efforts with other equity and justice approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community service providers deliver vital services to vulnerable populations. In the wake of a disaster, community service providers go beyond their normal service offerings to meet the added needs of clients. Research to date indicates that 25 per cent of community service providers effected by a disaster would not be able to reopen after a disaster, reducing the access to vital services. This paper discusses the disaster impacts on service providers for people experiencing homelessness and the possible ways to mitigate severe effects. To investigate the effects of disasters and barriers to preparedness, a survey was conducted and completed by 161 homeless service providers in Australia. A further 45 interviews were conducted. The results indicated that these service providers experience greater client demand for services and are heavily burdened during stressful and traumatic times. An increase in client presentations puts financial pressure on these organisations as well as on staff workload and staffing demands. Identifying these stresses and limitations, homeless service providers identified five initiatives to be better prepared. Initiatives include increased funding; training for staff, volunteers and clients; funds for identified infrastructure recovery; material support for clients and good inter-agency collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Training and education are acknowledged routes into employment, but they also entail risks of contemporaneous financial loss, and economic and social insecurity. This paper explores the specific risk of homelessness among apprentices and trainees, drawing on a survey conducted in South Australia in 2013. Housing has been largely overlooked by studies of the wellbeing of apprentices and trainees, and by explorations of the drivers of attrition rates that continue to plague Australia's training schemes. The data examined here reveal the high proportion of income that trainees spent on their housing; home moves motivated by the desire to reduce rental or mortgage payments; and a small proportion of learners who experienced periods of homelessness. Closer statistical analysis reveals that apprentices and trainees with past experiences of homelessness were disproportionately likely to be pursuing courses in retail and personal services, or in transport. They were also likely to be receiving Youth Allowance or AUSTUDY payments. We recommend better recording of apprentices' and trainees' housing situations and greater use of administrative data to improve our understanding and reduce the incidence of homelessness among this population [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper investigates the affective and performative aspects of the right to the city with a focus on the materialisation of this right, its corporeal coming into being. In elaborating the idea of an affective right to the city, I will refer to Judith Butler's performative theory of assembly, along with findings drawn from ethnographic research conducted among individuals experiencing homelessness in Melbourne, Australia. My research suggests that the materialisation of the right to the city is embodied in the social, material and affective occupation of urban spaces. This work reveals how the body's inhabitation of place, and the affordances of the material environment, mediate the performative expression of the right to the city. It also calls for a shift from a juridical conception of the right to the city to an affective one, more accommodating of the social and material contexts in which this right is enacted. I conclude with a brief discussion of the implications of this affective conception of rights for performative studies of homelessness in urban space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research demonstrates that mean health care costs incurred by those experiencing homelessness are high. However, high mean health care costs mask the fact that a sizeable number of people experiencing homelessness incur low costs and that very high costs are driven by a minority of the homeless population. This paper examines health care costs estimated from two Australian surveys of those experiencing homelessness undertaken by the authors. It demonstrates three important findings. First, higher health care costs are most strongly associated with diagnosed mental health disorders, followed by long-term physical health conditions. Second, having a current drug or alcohol dependency, but no diagnosed mental health disorder or long-term physical health issue, is not associated with higher level health care costs. Finally, higher health care costs are incurred by those with long periods of rough sleeping. The findings of this research provide a significant economic argument for government intervention to break the cycle of homelessness as they reveal significant potential savings to effective interventions for homeless people with diagnosed mental health disorders and longterm rough sleeping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents evidence of a ‘normalisation’ of the risk of homelessness experienced by apprentices and trainees in Australia. It draws on a bespoke survey of past and current learners in its Southern state, group and one-to-one interviews with apprentices and trainees, and a review of a government support programme, conducted in 2012 and 2013. The research produced evidence of apprentices and trainees experiencing homelessness in the course of their studies, but also applying preventative strategies to avoid or lessen its impact. At the same time, the study encountered behaviours and judgements reflecting a generalised acceptance among learners and training providers of this risk, which has been reinforced by the marketisation of training provisions in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The number of older people experiencing homelessness in Australia is rising, yet there is a lack of specialised residential care for older people subject to homelessness with high care and palliative needs. To address this significant gap, a purpose-built care home was recently opened in Sydney, Australia. Methods: This qualitative study explores the experiences of both residents and staff who were living and working in the home over the first twelve months since its opening. Residents were interviewed at baseline (n = 32) and after six months (n = 22), while staff (n = 13) were interviewed after twelve months. Interviews were analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach informed by grounded theory. Results: Three main themes emerged: (1) Challenges in providing care for older people subject to homelessness with high care needs; (2) Defining a residential care service that supports older people subject to homelessness with high care needs, and (3) Perception of the impact of living and working in a purpose-built care home after six months (residents) and twelve months (staff) since its opening. A key finding was that of the complex interplay between resident dependency and behaviours, referral pathways and stakeholder engagement, government funding models and requirements, staff training and wellbeing, and the need to meet operational viability. Conclusion: This study provides novel insights into how the lives of older people subject to homelessness with high care needs are affected by living in a specifically designed care home, and on some of the challenges faced and solved by staff working in the care home. A significant gap in the healthcare system remains when it comes to the effective provision of high care for older people subject to homelessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homelessness is a significant public health problem. It is well-documented that people experiencing homelessness exhibit more serious illnesses and have poorer health than the general population. The provision of services and interventions by health-care professionals, including pharmacists, may make a simple yet important contribution to improved health outcomes in those experiencing homelessness, but evidence of roles and interventions is limited and variable. In Australia, the Queensland University of Technology Health Clinic connects with the homeless community by taking part in community outreach events. This paper provides details of one such event, as well as the roles, interventions and experiences of pharmacists. Participation and inclusion of pharmacists in a multidisciplinary health-care team approach at homeless outreach events should be supported and encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although recently criticised in the academic literature, the past few decades have seen international demand for policies to be based on evidence. In this article three aspects of the process of evidence-based policy (EBP) are briefly examined. They include: (1) how evidence becomes socially worthy of the title; (2) the problems which arise for EBP when there is conflicting or rival evidence; and (3) facets of the transition from evidence to policy - the evidence-policy nexus. After problematising evidence-based research in this limited way, the issues are clarified and illustrated by reference to the history of the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP: 1985-2008), renown at the time as the major Australian program for people who were homeless. SAAP involved an agreement enshrined in legislation between the Commonwealth and all states and territories of the Federation. The argument is based on evidence from the four official national reports of the policy which, over the period of the program, evaluated SAAP and were commissioned and accepted as authoritative by federal, state and territory governments. In a nutshell, the argument is that, at each iteration of SAAP, subsequent policy discounted one of the sets of evidence in the official National Evaluations. This concerned the clear evidence of a lack of external, affordable accommodation options which, in turn, undermined the objectives of the program. The issue remains topical as more recent evidence substantiates the imperative for increased accommodation options for clients ready to exit agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2008 the Council of Australian Governments agreed to national reforms to address homelessness through the National Agreement on Affordable Housing (NAHA) and National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness (NPAH). Integral to meeting the information needs to support these reforms was the development of a Specialist Homelessness Services data collection. Working in collaboration with Commonwealth and state and territory governments, NGO service providers, peak homelessness bodies and a private sector information systems supplier, the Australian Institute of Health and Wealth (AIHW) developed a new national data collection and introduced an innovative data collection instrument and client information management system, known as SHIP. SHIP enables NGO case workers to easily capture client information, case manage clients and monitor their progress. SHIP allows seamless collection of data conforming to national data standards and submission to AIHW each month via a secure website. This paper describes the strong partnership arrangements that successfully delivered the new information system and data collection to 1500 NGO service providers across Australia and is providing valuable information to support measurement of policy effectiveness under the NAHA and NPAH in achieving successful outcomes for the clients of homelessness services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crime rates are generally decreasing and governments in Australia (as elsewhere) have committed to reducing recidivism. However, incarceration rates of certain groups continue to rise, including Indigenous and racialised peoples, those experiencing poverty, mental health issues, addiction, homelessness and people with cognitive disability. A large proportion are in custody for minor offences and/or not yet sentenced; however, political leaders have continued to defend their detention on the grounds of risk to community safety. The sudden drop in people incarcerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, without a commensurate rise in crime rates, highlighted the degree to which incarceration rates are a matter of policy decisions. For a time, public health priorities dominated criminal legal policies. Evidence on the social determinants of health that people experiencing social, economic, political and environmental disadvantage are more likely to experience poorer health outcomes has led to acceptance globally that public health policies must address systemic factors and not just focus on individual behaviour. In this article, we propose that a conceptual framework of the social determinants of justice could valuably inform efforts to reduce the criminalisation and incarceration of targeted and disadvantaged groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is often assumed that people experiencing homelessness gravitate to large cities and central city areas because of the concentration of homelessness services — a so-called magnet or honeypot effect. Yet little is actually known about how people experiencing homelessness move across space over time. This article explores this geography by comparing the mobility of those experiencing homelessness, those 'at-risk', and those renting privately in Australia, between waves in two Australian panel surveys: Journeys Home and the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA). Results suggest that while people experiencing homelessness are more likely to move than the other two groups, they more similarly short distances and appear more likely to move for reasons such as relationship breakdown, eviction and to escape violence. While some evidence of movement to areas with particular characteristics (sorting) was detected amongst those at-risk and those renting privately, this was not the case for those experiencing homelessness. Results do not support the contention that people experiencing homelessness gravitate to central urban areas well-resourced with homelessness services over time. The findings challenge assumptions about magnet effects and homelessness and have important implications for the provision and delivery of homelessness services in Australia and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We report on the extent of veteran homelessness in Australia, what has already been done to address it and what actions are recommended to further improve the response. Conclusions: Work conducted by not-for-profit organisations and the Department of Veterans' Affairs are outlined with positive prospects for significant coordinated action to further address the situation reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Couchsurfing, or temporarily staying with friends, extended family, acquaintances, or strangers, is a growing form of homelessness within Australia, and particularly concentrated among youth. System involvement with child welfare and its link to youth homelessness has previously been well-established, but not within the context of couchsurfing. In interviews with 19 young people with both couchsurfing and a history of system-involvement, we identify and describe six different pathways into couchsurfing. These pathways extended from the beginning to the end of their child safety involvement, and demonstrate how fear of reprisal for reporting, fear of out-of-home-care, and lack of transition planning pushed-or-pulled young people into couchsurfing. These findings indicate the link between couchsurfing and child safety involvement began very early in the investigative process, suggesting multidisciplinary service teams that include housing support should be involved in initial contact. We also echo the recommendations of other researchers to prioritise Housing First programming and risk assessment for evaluating young people's living spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Marginalized populations experience health inequities and are often underserved within existing health systems. Australian marginalized populations and their use of complementary medicine, including acupuncture, lack investigation. We have collected information on the health-seeking behaviors of marginalized individuals who utilize an acupuncture service within a community-based integrative health setting. Methods: A secondary analysis of pre-existing data involving the linking of three datasets. Information was collected across four domains: health characteristics, socio-demographics, health services utilization, and vulnerability markers. Bivariate analysis using Fisher's exact and chi-square tests additional to logistic regression analysis were conducted to determine the characteristics of the study population. All data once analyzed were then presented as a cumulative statistic. Results: Study participants (n = 42) included 28% of individuals with reported histories of homelessness (n = 12) and 32% with a history of psychological trauma (n = 13). Eighty-three percent (n = 31) of the population sought acupuncture to manage pain and 91% (n = 36) for musculoskeletal conditions. Sixty-three percent (n = 24) reported a mental health diagnosis, most commonly depression (n = 18). Participants were most likely to engage with three other health services within the study setting, in addition to acupuncture. Participants with an illicit substance abuse problem were 12 times more likely to seek a greater number of acupuncture treatments, and individuals with trauma histories were twice as likely to attend the acupuncture clinic eight or more times. Discussion: Our study findings suggest a robust level of engagement with acupuncture treatment among the target population and a willingness to engage with integrative health services when barriers to uptake such as accessibility and affordability are removed. Findings support current evidence pertaining to acupuncture's use as an adjunct to managing pain in marginalized populations as well as a perceived acceptability and feasibility of the integration of acupuncture within conventional health settings. There is the further observation that acupuncture in a group setting is suitable for a marginalized population and an interest in commitment to treatment among individuals with substance abuse problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rich-economy countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand women are increasingly experiencing first-time homelessness in older age. Focusing on the specific case of Australia, this article develops a theoretical critical realist causal account of how a gendered role in care and social reproduction has increased contemporary homelessness risk by constraining women's capacity to build financial security. We show how gender, capitalism and age have intersected as social structures to explain gendered economic outcomes for women over the life course; and how life events, individual women's experiences, agency, and decision-making interact with these structures to explain homelessness. Women's gendered financial vulnerability, accumulated whilst living conventional lives, sits at the heart of older women's susceptibility to housing loss. Limited resources reduce their capacity to respond to crises challenging their housing security within the contemporary context of Australia's unaffordable housing market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Older people subject to homelessness face many challenges including poor health status, geriatric syndromes, and depression, coupled with barriers in accessing health and aged care services. Many are in need of formal aged care at a younger age than the general population, yet, in Australia, specialised aged-care services to support this vulnerable cohort are limited. Methods: This study was an evaluation of a new purpose-built aged care home for people with high care needs and who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Over the first 12 months post-admission, the study examined: (1) changes in residents' physical, mental, psychological and social health, and (2) the costs incurred by the study cohort, including any cost benefit derived. Results: Thirty-five residents enrolled in the study between March 2020 – April 2021. At admission, almost half of residents were within the range for dementia, the majority were frail, at high risk for falls, and had scores indicative of depression. Over time, linear mixed-effect models showed significant improvement in personal wellbeing scores, with clinically significant improvements in overall health related quality of life. Levels of physical functional independence, frailty, and global cognition were stable, but cognitive functional ability declined over time. Comparison of 12 month pre- and post- admission cost utility data for a smaller cohort (n = 13) for whom complete data were available, suggested an average per resident saving of approximately AU$32,000, while the QALY indicators remained stable post-admission. Conclusion: While this was a small study with no control group, these preliminary positive outcomes add to the growing body of evidence that supports the need for dedicated services to support older people subject to homelessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy changes often aim to improve the access of socially marginalized people who face systemic, social and personal barriers to the support they need. A major policy reform in Australia was the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which was introduced to meet the country's human rights obligations. NDIS is publicly funded to allocate individual funding packages to 10% of people with disability and facilitates access to mainstream services for all people with disability. Support services are intended to be entitlements, consistent with a human rights framework. Predictably, the most marginalized people remain under-represented in both packages and mainstream access, including people with psychosocial disability who are at risk of homelessness. A 2-year project was conducted to familiarize people with disability and service providers who have contact with them about how to access support. People with Disability Australia managed the project as action research with university researchers. The research used interviews to study how to improve access. People with disability were advisors to the governance and research design. The findings were that it took many months for people with disability and the organizations that support them to trust the project staff, understand the relevance of disability to their lives, and to take steps to seek their entitlements to support. Some implications for policy are conceptual in terms of the policy language of disability, which alienates some people from the services to which they are entitled. Other implications are bureaucratic – the gap between homeless and disability organizations means that they prioritize people's immediate needs and people who are easier to serve, rather than facilitating sustainable support. A global social policy implication is that specialized interventions to advocate for the rights of marginalized people with disability and to demonstrate how to engage with them remains a priority while gaps between service types persist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many societies, perceptions regarding housing and ownership rights is that it is mostly consigned to males rather than females. Housing is gendered around physical aspects, as a financial asset, and even in housing data to be a male preserve – excluding females and their perceptions. This important paper addresses this limitation in the literature by examining the views and perceptions of female participants in the Australian Housing Conditions dataset. More specifically this paper examines the significance of household structure, housing quality and characteristics of Australian woman and how it affects their financial strain. As a further dimension this paper also examines differences in women's housing experience by age as older Australian women (above 65 years) have a higher likelihood to revert to substandard housing conditions and homelessness than younger Australian women (under 65 years). Logistic regression analysis shows a higher tendency towards financial strain in women under 65 years, those with either poor physical or mental health and those who were single or lone parents. These finding propose that women under 65 are at greater risk to experience household financial strain and poorer housing security. The paper argues that these results present challenges for Australian housing policy through increasing housing affordability. The analysis suggests that an increase in the availability of affordable housing will ease the financial strain and improve the mental health of Australian women. Moreover, an increase in the flexibility of housing arrangements may prove to be beneficial in providing additional housing solutions. • We examine housing perceptions through a female lens as housing in mainstream literature is gendered to be a male preserve. • The analysis uses the Australian Housing Conditions Dataset to determine the significance of housing to Australian women. • It also examines a further dimension by age. • The real issue is that women under the age of 65 are at greater risk to experience household financial strain. • Government should adapt housing policy by increasing housing affordability to accommodate the vulnerable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic childhood experiences predict many adverse outcomes in adulthood including Complex-PTSD. Understanding complex trauma within socially disadvantaged populations has important implications for policy development and intervention implementation. This paper examined the nature of complex trauma experienced by disadvantaged individuals using a latent class analysis (LCA) approach. Data were collected through the large-scale Journeys Home Study ( N = 1682), utilising a representative sample of individuals experiencing low housing stability. Data on adverse childhood experiences, adulthood interpersonal trauma and relevant covariates were collected through interviews at baseline (Wave 1). Latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted to identify distinct classes of childhood trauma history, which included physical assault, neglect, and sexual abuse. Multinomial logistic regression investigated childhood relevant factors associated with class membership such as biological relationship of primary carer at age 14 years and number of times in foster care. Of the total sample ( N = 1682), 99% reported traumatic adverse childhood experiences. The most common included witnessing of violence, threat/experience of physical abuse, and sexual assault. LCA identified six distinct childhood trauma history classes including high violence and multiple traumas. Significant covariate differences between classes included: gender, biological relationship of primary carer at age 14 years, and time in foster care. Identification of six distinct childhood trauma history profiles suggests there might be unique treatment implications for individuals living in extreme social disadvantage. Further research is required to examine the relationship between these classes of experience, consequent impact on adulthood engagement, and future transitions though homelessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the author discusses articles in the issue on topics including housing quality and health outcomes, impact of subjective quality of environments wellbeing and importance of social network.

Previous research into queer or LGBTQ+ youth homelessness has relied upon samples recruited from shelters or the streets; such strategies might miss the experiences of young people who are couchsurfing. Couchsurfing is a growing form of homelessness in many countries, including Australia. Here, drawing upon interviews with 31 young queer people, aged 16–27, who are or have recently couchsurfed, we map out their entry into homelessness, their previous use of social services, and their strategies for maintaining accommodation while couchsurfing. Respondents typically entered homelessness following a complex array of factors including deteriorating mental health, escalating family alienation, and stigmatisation following coming out. Once couchsurfing, most young people did not access services as they did not view themselves as homeless. Those who did were often told they were less of a priority given their roofed status. Finally, interviewees reported trading chores, rent, or sex to maintain housing. The difference between sex work and sexual exchange, as explained by young people, is also discussed. We conclude by suggesting a harm-reduction approach to understanding and serving young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is the most significant social and disability service reform in Australia since Medicare. It has received significant funding from national and state governments and received support across a diverse range of competing interest groups. Social work research in the area of disability can make a significant contribution to progressing a rights-based agenda in disability policy. This article provides a critical analysis of the NDIS using the "What's the Problem Represented to be?" (WPR) framework developed by Carol Bacchi. The WPR analysis identifies ableist assumptions and principles informing the problematisation of disability in the NDIS, reinforcing the marginal status of specific groups of people with disability. The WPR approach can contribute to social work knowledge in the field of disability because it deconstructs policy discourses and social barriers facing people with disability and it provides for a more inclusive approach to acknowledging silences in policy and voicing differences. IMPLICATIONS The NDIS is promoted as the main plank of disability reform in Australia and considering core social work values about social justice and human rights, it is critical that social work critically engages with the NDIS. Ongoing social work engagement with disability reform and the NDIS will be essential in highlighting the silences in disability policy and working alongside people with disability as critical participants in advocating for the voices of marginalised groups of people with disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gendered violence, specifically, domestic violence, continues to be a global issue impacting the health and well‐being of women despite the improvements to women's rights and the expansion of women's health and well‐being services in the 1970s. While considerable attention has been given to this period of time, scant attention has been given to understanding the resources and change processes involved in the opening of Australia's feminist‐led women's health and wellbeing services from a theoretical perspective. During a Visiting Scholar appointment at the State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia I undertook a review of historical documentation and academic literature search pertaining to the opening of Australia's first feminist‐led safe accommodation for women fleeing domestic violence: Elsie's Place. The concepts of Bourdieu (1977) Theory of Practice informed my understanding of resources, while Lewin (1947) Change Theory provided a conceptual lens through which to view change within the textual and graphical documents. The findings from this project point to the importance of capital, particularly social capital, in the forms of cooperation, collaboration, and networking, in the supporting of change within this sector during the opening of foundational services for women in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]