assignment [Archive] - Homeless Forums

Ausboy75

03-15-2007, 05:28 AM

why does is homelessness still an issue in Australian society today?

A few random thoughts:

Any person who is homeless has at some stage in their life been affected by a social issue (whether it be mental illness, drug/alcohol/gambling issues, release from prison without support, etc etc basically anything that robs you of position or posession e.g unemployment etc etc) , and it could be temporary or ongoing the effect of which has precipitated their decline in 'social status' to that of being 'homeless'.

In many cases society beats the person down so badly that the feeling of helplessness and despair overwhelm them and that compounds the problem, to the extent that it is very difficult to believe that theres any hope or possible future life....as an ordinary person making a meaningful contribution to the society in which one lives. In otherwords, when your homeless, theres something missing from your life....it doesnt mean you dont respect yourself or try to advance yourself, but you know that your at a disadvantage from the outset. Its a very hard feeling to describe..... but its an experience I pray you never have to encounter personally.

Homelessness is a very vunerable position to be in. The average person in Australia (if you believe the last census results) has a house, mortgage, credit card, children and earns average income of circa 50,000 a year (roughly - compared to say your average welfare recipient as a homeless person circa 8500 - 12500 say). If your homeless, you live day to day, deprivation is a daily occurance, you are vunerable (because you have no permanency - life in a shelter is not fun, nor is prison), disadvantaged because you have limited posessions and limited scope to improve without support.

Social Alientation is a big thing, the way human beings interact with each other has social implications. Some homeless people find it easier not to interact with society, its easier for them to cope..... seems odd to some, but as I said before... circumstances and society have different effects on people and how they cope living day to day.

There is another less palatable reason why Homelessness and the elements which cause the occurence of homelessness remain an issue in Australian society......that is that it would require government to acknowledge that they have made bad policy decisions (which may be voter popular), and having the political courage (read - lose the next election) to actually reverse those decisions and to address the impact of homelessness in society.

An example of a voter popular decison which distinctly disadvantages the homeless is Centrelink policy a) mutual obligation b) reporting/appointment policy (if you have no home, how do you get mail?? - miss the appointment you get cut off and have to pay back....how??) .... none the less, the general population wants to feel that their 'tax dollars' are not being given to 'welfare cheats'.

In my view the prospect of welfare cheating speaks as much about a failure of goverment to ensure a fair and adequate welfare system rather than a whole-scale rorting. Governement should be responsible for their failure to ensure the system is adequate to meet the demands placed upon it... and accept that there will be some problems in its operation...after all, no system is 'perfect'...it is delusional to think that it could be perfect. The best we can hope for is a system which addresses the social aspects which it is designed to assist (creating a safety net) and to function with some degree of consistency.

A responsible government would say that if a few people who abuse the welfare system is the cost of virtually solving the homelessness issue...then I say its an appropriate and acceptable cost.

If they (the voter) don't want the cost of paying welfare then they need to consider how government can house/cloth/feed anyone who needs those things, being the social/economic cost of the decision... so if your homeless and need a meal.. go to Centrelink and get something to eat and a warm place to stay... but failing that government's only option is to fund by way of payment... and do it adequately and without having to justify it to the voter. It's a social cost... everyone pays on some level....its unfortunate, but true.... either an economic or human cost, or both.

People say that they do not wish to create a welfare state (dependency on Centrelink payments). Yet to inadequately fund the welfare system and to continue to allow those vunerable indequate access to education or training programs (read: also, food/clothing/shelter/transport) only perpetuates the problem and does nothing to reduce welfare dependency. Instead of having a safety net for the vunerable, you have a disfunctional system that the average voter looks at and says... my tax moneys funding welfare cheats... If the system was properly funded and functional, you could demonstrate the results by factually showing improvement in social function. Thats the definition of the economic cost of social policy... in a nutshell... funded/functional/measurable outcomes.

Try selling it to your average voter... these days, it seems they are more concerned with whose having lunch with Brian Burke..... really, who cares what Burkey had for lunch or who was there..... but thats the current agenda and thats the current political climate.

Its more palatable to see Brian Burke and his panama hat on the TV than walk down the street and walk past someone sleeping on the steps of a building. The number of times I have seen people cross the road rather than walk past.... If I were a gambling man, I would say those that crossed the road also complain about 'welfare cheats'.... am I cynical?? maybe... but the gist is that its not politically expedient for government to meaningfully address the homeless issue or the elements which cause it.

and what possible solutions are there?

This is simplifiying it, but..

1) Acknowledge the issue and the elements that cause the social problem of homelessness and address the policies which impact upon it (e.g Centrelink/welfare access, low income taxation treatment, subsidy of long term unemployed, mental health funding (beds in treatment centres/practioner training etc etc).

2) Properly fund and conduct programs which address not only the current homeless situation but also those at risk (the working poor for instance - those who work 9-5, but have no money at the end of pay day because of bills, credit cards/mortgages etc).

3) Do everything humanly possible to correct the problem on both a humane and compassionate level and understand that the economic cost is short term compared to the overall increase in productivity and the respective economic and social benefits of a long term sucessful program.

Just from my own perspective, a serious review of public housing to ensure that anyone who needs a roof to establish permancy (which includes social inclusion and stability) has access to it. That means a place which is of reasonable standard and not falling down around your ears or a shoebox. You cannot expect someone to live somewhere or in something that you yourself would not do so. Its about returning dignity and self respect to the persons life...making them feel they they are a worthwhile contributor to society and have a place in that society.

Thats not a bad start.

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Update 20/3/07: After consideration and some general reflection as regards the varying degrees of vunerability (being home-less as opposed to house-less).... I am going to re-post my thoughts at some stage.