Good article.

The last part tabling reasons for homelessness has crucial importance. This would help policy makers better target resources and help compare data over time.

did not Tony Abbot get strung up for saying the same things about homelessness?

I live alone in a paid for three bedroom house.
I read that I am one of 50,000 in Ausralia.
If I share then my age pension will be reduced.
If I move I must pay stamp duty.
Come on government ,stop these two expenses and I will move to a
one bedroon house.

A sensible well thought out approach to tackling the thorny issue of homelessness. I wish the author success in his project and at the end, that Service Deliverers use the data to better tackle the tasks of finding solutions and meeting the diverse needs of the cross section of society that are homeless.

One question to the writer: I see he rates the probability of success for those who are homeless due to domestic violence as low. While realising that many victims of violence within the home do tend to return to abusive partners particularly, though less likely to abusive parents, it has always confounded me as to why this is so common. Often the end result is tragedy. What is needed to help these people to not only make the move but make the break? Otherwise, like the author suggests, funding for this area of housing need might well be considered ineffective and of low priority?

Hold on! Doesn't overpopulation come into view as well as technology growth in such a small time period also come into this equation? A lot of people from the 60's to the mid 80's ever had a chance to catch the change, and now machines have taken away any manual laboring which many relies upon, and of course, is just not there any-more.

Is homelessness solvable?

With the way things are going, I would say at this time, the answer is NO.

BLUE

Dear runner. Was this the tony habit of the putting his foot in mouth problem you were on about?

http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theage.com.au%2Fopinion%2Fbible-bashing-the-homeless-abbott-style-20100215-o2tj.html&rct=j&q=tony%20abbott%20and%20comments%20on%20the%20homeless&ei=DWHXTP1bkrS-A_nwiO8J&usg=AFQjCNESy56LOGCzSfs_3Ct8tGCjUVc5XA&cad=rja

Or this one?

http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CBwQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fguttertrash.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F16%2Fpoor-people-choose-to-be-homeless-says-tony-abbott%2F&rct=j&q=tony%20abbott%20and%20comments%20on%20the%20homeless&ei=DWHXTP1bkrS-A_nwiO8J&usg=AFQjCNHEhBiklcFkYGs9SZ6yqbT8TbionA&cad=rja

What do you think was thinking? Is he trying to say that God will save them or do you have another view?

BLUE

Deep-Blue,

I would say your misreading of the character of Tony Abbot (whether naively or deliberately) is on a much larger scale than Tony's supposed twisting of Scripture. If more resources could solve homelessness their would not be one aboriginal in poverty today. Things are a little more complicated as the naive or political animals want to make out.

We exist in a "disconnected" society - a society where all facets are compartmentalised.
Perhaps we should realise that the word "home" has a wider meaning, and is more than just the shelter of four walls and a roof. Instead, it encapsulates the idea of security, community, interaction and purpose. These are the areas that are becoming increasingly fragile in our culture, and those that find themselves "home-less" are the one's who have become marginalised through an inability to accommodate themselves within the narrow confines and separate structures imposed by mainstream modern society. The sense of belonging that is vital to humans has been lost to an instutionalised culture.
Homelessness cannot be "fixed" by an injection of money - it can only be alleviated to a degree. Like an long term malady, a cure can only be attempted by tackling the root of the problem.

Runner.

"Things are a little more complicated as the naive or political animals want to make out.
Posted by runner, Monday, 8 November 2010 2:38:32 PM

Now that's quite true, but the thing they don't want anyone to know is, that if you save the poor, all the professionals and religious bodies would be high and dry. That means, DOC's , Centrelink , Law and court personal , Goals , ETC...and all of what the higher skilled people need as a life-line themselves. The high to the low food chain we all enjoy, would just disappear.

That I think Runner, is what tony was trying to say.

The three levels of capitalist existence.

Rich...middle...poor.

And that's what we all vote for and know it.

Thats life.

Enjoy.

BLUE

One very frustrating aspect to reducing homelessness is either utterly rejected or plainly not accepted as an alternative. National Service ! Why ? Because it is based on the age-old principal that if you need support you have to accept to provide responsibility in return.
I don't think homelessness is actually solvable but the numbers of homeless can be drastically reduced as would the expense to society. I suspect that many homeless aren't victims, they simply shirk responsibility behind a smokescreen called abuse & discrimination. The financial cost of homelessness is petty in comparison to the cost in future social aspects.

Deep-Blue

While you have a point as far as the 'poor' industry it is not nearly as big as the aboriginal or global warming industry. Along with real estate, banking and other leach industries many make a fine living out of it. There are also many who take large pay cuts in order to serve the less fortunate then themselves. Many actually do it free of charge which is quite admirable in my eyes. You were happy to agree with slurs on Tony Abbot knowing full well he spoke the truth on homelessness being a choice for a number of people. Don't forget that even the poorest in this nation still rate highly against the rest of the world.

Well Runner? lets see what they have, considering its all your votes that makes them. I think their on thin ice with some of the points that are clearly not seen as any importance.

There is much work to do my friend. But the system is the system. I can only wish I could make a difference, and I hope man-kind soon, will all see , that is us.

Runner. John Lennon. What if the world can be as one. He just might be right.

http://www.google.com.au/url?url=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D-b7qaSxuZUg&rct=j&sa=X&ei=otfXTM_NMoXsvQO17uDwCQ&ved=0CDsQuAIwAA&q=John+Lennon.+songs&usg=AFQjCNFB1wd3tOqmqKA2FS4Xhy6AQXIZQw&cad=rja

Man-kind can change. I do believe this.

BLUE

Until the cause of homelessness addressed there won't be much change but the author makes a point about more practical housing on the ground whether it be community housing, boarding houses/shelters or public housing.

As the author offers, a more intense focus on a smaller number of people in a community shelter may also go some way to addressing the disadvantages that contribute to homelessness for the long term than the short term bandaid approach.

Mental illness and drug abuse (often hand in hand) make it more difficult when often schizophrenic episodes or drug dependency increase the likelihood of returning to the streets. This perpetuates the problem making case managment more difficult and any intervention often too late or after the event. There are still a large number of ex-Vietnam Vets living in a cycle of homelessness due to psychological repercussions of disenfranchisement and PTSD. There are a number of programs now in place targeting various risk groups but there does need to be a preventative approach as well as an emphasis on solutions.

Deep-Blue

If John Lennon faced up to himself being part of the problem he would of been much more use in becoming part of the answer.

The homeless problem won't be helped until the lobbyists and funding-grabbing organisations admit the truth.

The 'official' line (the politically correct one) is that there are about equal numbers of homeless men and women...

However the truth is that the ACTUAL homeless are virtually entirely male. This is achieved by including women already is free accomodation as still homeless. And not providing free accomodation for men.

Walk down the squalid lanes in darlinghurst near the Matthew Talbot home for homeless men at night. You will see dozens and dazens of men sleeping rough every night, sleeping under railway bridges etc to get a free feed in the morning. But they don't get free accomodation, so they are forced to stay sleeping literally in the gutter, night after night. Some get into the hostel, and sleep in what looks like a basketball court with about 40 beds in it, looking all the world like emergency shelter after a natural disaster.

Now compare this to the woman, living in nice clean houses (no basket ball courts for them). All they have to say is that they 'fear' violence and they get to live here, rent free, for ever.

So the truth (not the official, 'politically correct' feminist-inspired spin) is that 99$ of really homeless, sleeping-in-the-gutter-homeless are men. meanwhile there are equal numbers of women living in comfortable free clean homes for free, just because they are women.

Love this country.

All the great-time memorable musician had great messages in how they shared with the world what they thought. They have definately made a lot more difference then most of us here I reckon. So for those who are dissing them, please reflect on your own self first. What have you done for society again?

why doesn't the government spend more money in correcting the source of the problems? the upbring and health of children, fix all the mental problems first.. then it'll be a lot easier to fix the rest.

Medical practitioners here.. yes, some of them can actually do their jobs really well, and the rest, only think about money. It's discussed in on or the topic here. How a lot of them don't care too much about helping you with your problem, the way I look at in.. in my opinion, they just complicate our lives even more.. not all.. just most.

Educate our society the right way, make them realize how everything works, till then, homelessness will always exist.

part-time parent
Most statistics do reveal that men make up the large proportion of homelessness - mainly due to alcohol or other mental illness. I can assure you that women do find themselves literally on the streets as well even if they are not in sufficient numbers to satisfy you.

Why are some people compelled to push a personal agenda using a sad and critical situation as homelessness.

Does homelessness relate to housing affordability? In the 1950s you were allowed to live in a shed on a block of land, or even a caravan if you were so lucky.

If the huge restrictions over what you can do with your land were relaxed, housing would become much more affordable, and homelessness would be a smaller problem.

Pelican "men make up the large proportion of homelessness - mainly due to alcohol or other mental illness" Ah, like a true feminist, you blame the victim. Don't women suffer from addictions and mental illness too?

Pelican "women do find themselves literally on the streets as well even if they are not in sufficient numbers to satisfy you." My point is that there is discrimination - there is gender-based funding that is available for women, but not men. Certainly I don't want more women homeless, but I want the money that is rorted by false claims of violence to be re-directed to save those truely homeless and on the street, who are nearly entirely men.

I want fairness.

"Ah, like a true feminist, you blame the victim..."

How? You should be ashamed of yourself for pushing an anti-woman agenda on a thread about homelessness.

As for fairness, I don't really think that is what you want at all, otherwise you would recognise the conditions that result in homelessness and not see them as an opportunity to misrepresent the cause of homelessness for men as a 'blaming the victim' stance.

You are the one that put forward the statistics that men make up the larger portion of homelessness.

Sheesh...instead of asking why there are more men on the street and working towards a solution you don't really give a toss.

Let's go back to Burdekin...he spoke the truth when he said that the seriously mentally ill (SMI) live a very difficult life; he added that without decent and safe housing, such a life becomes almost impossible to live.

A short time after that, all of our stand-alone hospitals for the mentally ill are destroyed; deinstitutionalization begins. It is never finished, and those SMI who manage to survive that unhousing swell the ranks of the homeless and fill thousands of male and female prison cells.

Rudd, in his paper on homelessness, spoke of the possibility of not allowing a seriously mentally ill person to be discharged from hospital onto the street. This is a minimal, responsible action. The Mental Health Council of Australia wrote 'Home Truths' in reply to Rudd's paper, citing that statement as of crucial importance in saving lives of seriously ill people. After all, we do not discharge seriously ill cardiac or cancer patients onto the street.

We must begin somewhere, and to legislate that seriously mentally ill patients may not be discharged onto the streets will force governments to fund the social housing AND support which the
seriously mentally ill have been denied for decades.