This article was originally published in March 2015.
The state of being homeless is not a ‘one-size fits all’ dilemma. People can move in and out of homelessness within different time frames and experience homelessness in many different ways, such as; sleeping rough on the street, in a car, or on a friend’s couch.
This Working Paper, ‘A journey home: What drives how long people are homeless?’ is written by the Life Course Centre’s Program Leader for Human Capabilities, and Chief Investigator, Professor Deborah A. Cobb-Clark, Nicolas Herault, Rosanna Scutella and Yi-Ping Tseng.
“International law has recognised adequate housing as a basic human right for nearly three generations. Despite this, homelessness remains a pressing issue in even the most wealthy of nations. In the United States, for example, over 600,000 people are homeless on any given day while over 100,000 Australians are estimated to have been homeless on census night 2011. These estimates of the point-in-time incidence of homelessness dramatically understate the number of people who will ever be affected by homelessness at some point in their lives …” (extract from introduction) read more
Some key findings
- Increased age and higher maternal education are associated with slower rates of moving out of homelessness and increased duration of homelessness.
- Women are more likely than men to leave homelessness when broadly defined by acquiring homes of their own, however, they also appear to remain in crisis accommodation or on the streets longer than men.
- Highly educated fathers move have a high rate of moving out of homelessness.
- Rates of moving out of homelessness are higher for those with exemptions from welfare-related activity requirements that are due to either mental or physical health conditions.
- Interventions are needed that target those most susceptible to long periods of homelessness.