Impact of Homelessness and Incarceration

Question: Discuss about the Impact of Homelessness and Incarceration. Answer: Introduction: Homelessness has no consistent definition, but experts and social theorists perceive this state of affairs as a problem which goes beyond than not having safe shelter. In other words, it goes beyond the usual concept of rooflessness. The people who experience homelessness comprise of who sleep rough on the streets or for that matter under the rough and ready residence. While the people who sleep rough are mostly visible to the general public while they represent a mere seven percent of the entire population of the state. Families, women and young people residing in refuges or crisis accommodation are considered to be homeless. On the other hand, people who are forced to move from one impermanent place to another are also considered to be homeless. It is seen that some people would stay in cheap hotels or even in their cars. The people who live in makeshift accommodation such as caravan cars are also considered to be homeless. Australians belonging from all backgrounds and ages become homeless. As much as 56 percent of Australians are male while the number of women experiencing the same state is rising in leaps and bounds. The following essay portrays the reason of homelessness in Australia, critical evaluation of the predicament and role of various parties in negating the issue. Homelessness is rising in the Australian community. At present, there are as many as 1,04,000 people experiencing homelessness in Australia and many other living in impermanent residences which are one step away from homelessness (Sharam and Hulse 2014). It is worthwhile to mention that homelessness is not a choice. The majority of people that are homeless may be attributed to emotional and financial hardship. Furthermore, studies have revealed that domestic and family violence is also a major cause of homelessness in Australia. The large section of Australias itinerant population is moving from one place to the next and hence may be termed as hidden population. The Australians hailing from all backgrounds and ages become homeless. Some people are vulnerable to homelessness than others. Single women over the age of forty-five are more susceptible to the state of homelessness in Australia. In 2010, nearly half of the population who required assistance from specialists was below twenty -five. Two-thirds of these people were accompanying their mothers escaping violence (Bullen 2015). Various social factors trigger homelessness state in Australia. Amongst all, domestic violence is one of the important causes of homelessness in Australia. Barring this, other factors that educe homelessness are economic, social and health-related issues. The experts propound that people may become homeless due to extreme poverty, health issues, poor interpersonal relationships and mental health concerns. All these have a detrimental effect on people who have been managing life well but are faced with immense distress due to relationship break-up, loss of loved ones, unemployment, and others (Moore 2016). Around fifteen percent are encountered with financial troubles while twelve percent struggle with the housing crisis. On the other hand, somewhat ten percent of the population who are homeless has been residing in unsuitable dwelling conditions. The causes of the state of homelessness are varied in nature, and each other's reason is unique to each other. Some of the existing populat ions in Australia who are homeless were in large-scale residential units for the mentally ill in the past. The regular perception of a destitute person is an older person having a drug problem who sleeps in a secluded area within the city or town. The census figures state that there is no typical homeless person. The factual reality is homelessness may have an effect on men, women, and children hailing from a diverse range of background residing in suburbs, cities and counties. Still, the problem remains the fact that people experience homeless move from one momentary solution to another until they settle on something permanent accommodation. Research statistics reveal that on any given night one in two hundred people are homeless. The Severe housing crisis and social and economic exclusion also contribute to the state of homelessness in Australia (Milbourne and Cloke 2013). The impact of homelessness: The homelessness results in significant economic and social costs not restricted to families and individuals but also social communities and nation by and large. On a different perspective, homelessness makes it difficult to pursue education and thereby leave people vulnerable to chronic ill-health and continuing unemployment conditions. Various health problems are an outcome of homelessness which includes depression and other mental problems (Ahmed et al. 2016). Australians who are experiencing homelessness are habitually excluded from participating in various cultural, social and economic affairs in their respective communities. As far as national level is concerned, people who are encountered with such crisis are more likely to have interaction with various governmental agencies like Health Department, Legal Department, Corrective Service Departments and other bodies. The cost of homelessness to the Australian community along with economy and individuals is enormous if this proble m is not resolved quickly. The current scarcity of affordable rental accommodations is continuing to make homelessness an incessant difficulty for the people of the state. The incidence of mental illness that is, bipolar and schizoid type disorders amongst individuals are undergoing homelessness than what it is in the general population (Aihw.gov.au 2016). Population types who are at risk of homelessness: More or less all Australians are affected by the predicament of homelessness. Women, in particular, who are reliant on part-time engagement or being single, may be more risk than men. Normally women are vulnerable in the light of family and domestic violence which is a big threat to their safety which propels them to leave their home. Over a third of women have encountered psychological and physical violence which is a determinant factor for them to move out of their residence. The vulnerable groups of women like Aboriginal Islander women are severely hit by the crisis of homelessness (Wood et al. 2014). The culture of Torres Strait Island in Australia has an impact on the ability of the women to access homelessness services. Their inability to utilize legal, counseling and support services in remote locations has added to their crisis. Aboriginal women may also encounter discrimination concerning housing facilities and services from the state. The resident communities in Torres Stra it Islands are somewhat thirty-five times to be victims of domestic violence. Women with disabilities are at risk of homelessness. This includes inadequate income and lack of secure affordable housing. On the other hand, young women are vulnerable to housing security due to mental illness (Chamberlain et al. 2014). Both of Torres Strait Island and non-Aboriginal Islander women, access to housing solutions is restricted due to limited availability of resources in the region. Homelessness data services and solution indicates that people who are born overseas are aided by services is significantly on a lower side than the percentage of people born in the general population. Restricted usage of services of housing system and solution pose a significant impediment for women belonging to CALD or culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. There are more or less four million people residing in Australia with disabilities. A disability may be permanent and temporary depending on vari ed conditions. People living with disabilities may face additional costs which may be a taxing to them (Flatau et al. 2015). In any case, the basic cost of living is exorbitant and on the top of it, they are required to bear health care costs and housing support services. Despite popular notion, children are one of the largest population groups experiencing homelessness. Studies reveal that children below eighteen years constitute nearly 27 percent of homelessness. Children ranging in the age group of seventeen comprise of users of specialist services (Fildes 2016). Barriers of accessing facilities: Exorbitant fee and cost structure is a barrier for most of the homeless populations. These are inclusive of basic daily health care and charge of accommodation. Here, aged and women group of the population are faced with the lack of home ownership when it comes to securing a place in the aged care system. The only reason being service providers may ask for accommodation bond from people to secure a place in service units (Parsell et al. 2013). Many times, they are forced to sell the family home to pay such excessive charges. However, this option is not available to inhabitants residing in social or private rental housing experiencing homelessness. The priority needs to be directed towards the funding of various care giving models specifically for aged and women population who may have a history of homelessness and insecurity. Ending a permanent solution to homelessness is no mean task (Meyer 2016). What are the options available? The state and private institutions need to pioneer initiatives which would help Australia to counteract the crisis. The State and Territory Housing departments should maintain their current public housing stock. Barring that, the Australian government should strive to establish an affordable housing facility which could deliver minimum 20,000 new affordable dwelling units catering to a countless number of homeless individuals (Milbourne and Cloke 2013). Through NPAH scheme, renewal of funding for innovative homelessness services needs to be performed. The funding for research for maximizing the effectiveness of homelessness spending and innovating strategies should be identified to prevent homelessness. Early intervention programs having a proven success record along with an increase in funding for homelessness prevention deserve special mention in this regard. On the other hand, non-pension allowance should be increased by a minimum of USD 50 per week to provide people with the maximum opportunity to make both ends meet (Youthcentral.vic.gov.au 2016). Homelessness service system in Australia: In Australia services aimed to support individuals experiencing homelessness state spanning since the twentieth century. In 1970, various social movements emerged like the liberation of women. 1985 witnessed surfacing of new services models during the tenure of Hawke Government which resulted in the establishment of SAAP or Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (Aihw.gov.au 2016). The SAAP helped in drawing of a plethora of services to support young people, older women and aged destitute. In recent past, the Australian Government released a document which outlines the methods of reduction of homelessness in the region. At presently, most of the funding is performed through COAG or Council of Australian Government agreement. NAHA is another body which provides funding to various state governments thereby allocation of funds to attain desired standards. The National Affordable Housing Agreement works in tandem to provide nearly USD 250 million per year aimed homelessness program ( Gough 2014). The National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness or NPAH offers additional finding for a wide range of activities which ranges from joint funding from territories and states and implementation plans. Nearly USD 115 million has been annually spent by the body which has a deadline till 2017 (Harvey et al. 2016). On the other hand, the Commonwealth Government is on the verge of founding a Reforming of Federation scheme aimed to exert more cooperation amongst Commonwealth states and territories to change homelessness funding had been performed till date. The role of NGO: NGO and other self-help groups have been operating in Australia for a substantial period. One of the most prominent organizations in the domain is Red Cross Society which strives to assist around 2181 people to find housing solutions and services. The firm provides roughly 44,000 meals to individual experiencing homelessness in Australia (Redcross.org.au 2016). Several programs and initiatives have been taken by the organization to help people find safe and suitable accommodation through tireless caseworkers. This includes services rendered to destitute suffering from mental disorders and Aboriginal and Strait Islander inhabitants. Red Cross Society provides reliable meals and supports people of low income who are otherwise homeless. The volunteers and staffs serve meals and help the destitute to find a stable accommodation in life. The organization undertakes various programs to help people being homelessness. Some of the important initiatives are Homestay which supports people to m aintain their existing accommodation and accessing more sustainable accommodation (Moore 2016). Private Tenancy Support is another initiative which aims to support people at risk of losing their private rental housing. In continuance to this, Red Cross Society has formulated Intensive Tenancy Support aimed to provide support to inhabitants who are on the verge of losing their rental housing. Homelessness Accommodation Support Services, Youth Homelessness and Reintegration Services, Mentors Initiative and Homelessness Service Hub are some of the overwhelming initiatives that the firm has undertaken to eradicate homelessness state of affairs in Australia. Thus it may be concluded that the state along with regional as well as globally esteemed self-help group or NGOs has been effective in dealing with the social predicament of homelessness in Australia thereby changing lives of the people of the region. 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