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Table of Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Discussion ....................................................................................................................................... 3
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Idea 3: Support services for the homeless elderly Australians ..Error! Bookmark not defined.
Idea 6: Government initiatives for homeless Australians ..........Error! Bookmark not defined.
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 11
Introduction
From the past few decades, the event of homelessness becomes a considerable social issue in
many developed and developing countries, as it leads to the occurrence of economic downturn,
enhancement in poverty, and causing family dysfunction. From the year 2002, the percentage of
worldwide homelessness raised to 69%. However, people living normally have several
misconceptions about the reasons, effects, and issues related with homelessness. Therefore, it is
necessary to provide attention on the proficient elements having direct relationship with
homelessness, especially from the Australian contexts. The essay would possibly discuss about
the problematic situations of the homeless elderly people living in different regions of Australia,
along with the shedding light on the causes, consequences, and overcoming strategies.
Discussion
As per the census statistical data, it can be stated that the percentage of homeless elderly people
living in Australia has increased up to 14% in the previous 5 years, and the major increment is
observed in New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. Besides this, the data represented by
Australian Bureau of Statistics states that in the year 2016, the number of homeless people in
Australia became around 116, 000, which means that at least 50 people were homeless in every
10,000 people.
Apart from this, it is also evident that in Australia, there are a population, who can be considered
as the ‘invisible homeless’. This term actually means that people living on restraint amount of
resources, as 51,000 people get accommodation facilities of around 10,000 population, which is
passively turned into the homeless condition (Australia's homelessness worsening, census data
shows, 2018). As per the data represented by different Australian government websites, most of
The Rise of homelessness in Elderly Australians 5
the homeless people, around 18% of the population, lives in the supported accommodations
arranged by different political bodies or NGOs, among which 15% are living in the temporary
households.
On the other hand, it is evident that the dwellings remain severely overcrowded, as
approximately 44% of the homeless elderly people try to live inside the dwellings. Apart from
this, around 7% of the Australian homeless aged population lives in boarding houses, tents, or
other temporary lodging arrangements. Furthermore, it is proved that most of the homeless aged
people, around 18%, belongs from the age group of 25-34, whereas 15% and 12% belongs from
the age group of 19-24 and 35-44, respectively (Homelessness statistics | Homelessness
Australia, 2019).
Apart from the above events, there are certain facts, which are less familiar to the modern
population. For example, it is already observed that there might be about 116,427 homeless
people in any one specific given night; among which 43,552 people belong from under 25 age
whereas around 18625 people belong from the age group over 55 years. However, an unfortunate
fact is also that among the entire homeless population, about 7% of the Australian people live
and sleep on streets or roads. Another cruel reality of this homeless condition is that there are
around 15,872 children currently living in Australia under the age of 12 years, who are homeless
(5 facts you didn’t know about homelessness, 2018). Therefore, it can be stated that it is
necessary to understand the exact reasons behind such increasing percentage of homelessness in
Australia.
As per the evidence represented by different reporter and researchers, it can be stated that
condition of human’s life. Along with this, it can be considered as one of the most significant
marker regarding the social exclusion (Why are people homeless? |The Salvation Army
Australia, 2019). Through expanding the aspects of homelessness in the modern Australian
settings, it can be stated that there are certain internal and external reasons regarding the
For example, some common reasons behind this situation is unemployment, family crisis, non-
affordable housing provisions, large section of youth as well LGBTQ, less supportive networks,
mental or physical health issue, or the issue of substance use. Among this, domestic violence can
be considered as one of the main reason related with Australian homeless elderly population, and
this is mostly related with the elderly women population living in the current Australian societies
and communities.
As per the statement of Gilbert (2008), almost 60% of the Australian population will agree with
the fact that in case of the prosperous nation like Australia, all the people require spending their
lives along with proficient support and resources, in which safe and secure shelter is the
considerable one. However, in the year 2006, it is reported that around 18,108 Australians, over
55 age, were counted as the sufferers of homeless condition, which is around 30% increase from
the census count of 2001. Based on the research results conducted by the Boston University,
there are certain factors, which are the main causes behind such increasing homelessness
condition among elderly, such as marital or relational issues, death of spouse, relational
breakdown with children, financial issue, inability of securing property, alcohol and drug use,
and so on.
The Rise of homelessness in Elderly Australians 7
As per the international reporting standard, family violence leads to the enhancement of
homelessness condition, as every 237 homeless elderly people of every 100,000 population are
estimated as the sufferers of domestic violence. According to the statement of Crane & Warnes
(2010), women often become forced to leave their home for getting rid from abusive and adverse
relationship. At this point, it can be stated that the relationship factor can also contribute in this
case, as people experiencing personal crisis, traumatic events, or any other life-related issues, are
According to the statement of Mission Australia CEO, absence of commitment execution from
the political contexts is one of the major reason behind such increased homelessness condition.
According to the statement of Knaus & Davey (2018), Australian government did not provide
attention on building affordable housing and homes for the continuous increasing population of
the country and for the migrants also. The report suggests that around 28.2% of the Australian
population are living in overseas countries, and among them, around 46%-aged population
remain homeless.
The critical shortage in housing might become a worsened situation, especially for the children
and older aged population. This factor is related with several other factors, such as
unemployment, less education rate, poverty, and economic imbalance. Additional to this, several
other factors also have direct influence on the increasing homeless condition of the Australian
elderly population, such as structural factors and system failure, i.e. difficult transition, discharge
different societal activities, and so on (Why are there so many more homeless people on
In many of the previous literatures, the homeless elderly people are often portrayed as the
criminal, lazy and alcoholic population, which is precisely a completely wrong concept. It is
already mentioned earlier that people will not choose the situation of homelessness; they become
the victim of such situation, due to some individual inadequacies and adverse socio-political
factors. Especially among the homeless older adults, there is a certain inter-relationship among
the various individual as well as structural factors. As per the viewpoint of Cohen, Sokolovsky &
Crane (2001), most of the older people suffer from the homelessness condition due to the
inadequate accumulation of individual risk factors, insufficient structural support, less effective
The obvious fact is that it is necessary to support the homeless elderly people for surviving
properly in their crisis life situation, as they often could not get the basic and minimum
There are several organisations, regulated under the supervision of Australian Government of
Health and Welfare. For example, one popular name among all the health and welfare
organisations is Red Cross, who is running their operation in order to establish affordable, safe
and secure housing facilities, for every people living in Australia. The prime principle of this
organisation is finding housing properties for almost 2200 people each year, along with
preventing the risk of homelessness for 1400 people and providing 43,500 meals to the homeless
According to the statement of Dunn & Brown (2008), the organisations dealing with this social
issue require focusing on the needs and demands of the people suffering from the homeless
condition. Therefore, at first, they develop strategic programs for supporting the population,
The Rise of homelessness in Elderly Australians 9
along with finding suitable shelters for them. However, while finding the living resources, the
gender, and culture of the homeless elderly people. For example, it is essential to separate the
housing accommodations for older aged population, younger population, and Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander population. Apart from this, the organisations can support the homeless
elderly people through making some connections with the societies and communities, through
which they can get some educational or training supports. Kimbler, DeWees & Harris (2017)
mentioned that such skills could make bigger differences, and can eliminate the adversities
regarding homelessness.
According to the viewpoint of Lee & Besch (2018), it is evident that the certain homeless
condition of the Australian elderly population can be explained through some theoretical or
model-based alignment.
One of the most useful theories related with the homeless condition is the Karl Marx’s Conflict
Theory, as this theory can effectively link the issue capitalism with the main prevalence of
homeless condition in the overseas countries. According to the theory, there are two different
societal classes, proletariat and bourgeoisie, associated within the modern societies.
Based on these two classes, the theory provides an argument that most of the Bourgeoisie thinks
that wealth be required to earn by integrating hard work, educational attainment, and
determination. Therefore, this population mostly focuses on earning wealth by any means. At
this point, they often think that the homeless poor and aged population is unwanted and
unmotivated towards the betterment of life. Therefore, as per the conflict theory developed by
Karl Marx, the theory mainly sheds light on the shortcomings in the desired personality of a
The Rise of homelessness in Elderly Australians 10
certain group of population, instead of highlighting the flaws integrated in the societies (Frances,
2015).
Apart from the above-mentioned theoretical explanation, there are different conceptual models,
especially related with the psychological contexts behind the homeless condition. Such model-
based evaluation can help in understanding more structural analysis of the homeless condition.
According to the statement of Morley (2008), there are number of psychological model, which
can be applied in case of exploring the conditions and reasons o homeless population. Based on
the viewpoint of Jansz (2015), the psychological models can explore about the structural aspects
of homelessness.
For example, there are several theories and models, through which it can be assumed that there is
proficient relationship among the environmental and psychological factors, which can be
considered as a main reason behind the condition of homelessness. Such as, homeless elderly
people often could not use the health resources properly, which is mainly described by the social
cognition model. Apart from this, various other models also have direct connection, such s
Apart from the above, it also observed that the condition of homelessness could not be occurred
due to one single reason; it is a combined mix of different causal factors, due to which the new
The study conducted by Gilbert (2008) suggested that most of the above-mentioned factors are
mostly influential among the women, therefore, older aged women increasingly become
homeless due to some unknowing factual reasons. However, the study reveals that some most
The Rise of homelessness in Elderly Australians 11
effective reasons in this case are increasing housing price, declination in the home ownership,
separation, and divorce. Besides this, through defining a clear relationship among gender,
poverty, and ageing, it is found that independent women also become homeless due to the less
Living on the roadways is not the single specific problem of the homeless older aged population.
Morris, Judd & Kavanagh (2005) mentioned that most of the people living without shelter ace
distinctive challenges during that stage, due to which it becomes more difficult and harder for
them to get back in their normal routines. Through expanding the causal factors and conditions
of homelessness among the older adults, it can be stated that due to insufficiency in different
life-related factors, the homeless older adult population face number of difficulties in their last
few years. The most certain issue experienced by older aged people is presence of different
According to the viewpoint of Persing (2015), since the homeless older aged population need to
stay in boarding or sometimes on footpath, therefore, the health condition of the people start
deteriorating. Besides this, due to the weak immunisation power, they often suffer from skin and
foot problems, nutritional deficiency, different types of infectious disease, dental problems, and
so on. On the other hand, in case of mental disorder, older population generally suffer from
dementia, depression, loneliness, and many other chronic issues, which might affect their well-
being standard. Apart from this, certain inequality and discrimination remain integrated in the
policy-based structures and legal frameworks, especially for the homeless elderly people.
The Rise of homelessness in Elderly Australians 12
From the past few years, due to the increasing statistics behind homelessness in the greater
Australia, the government tries to review all the relevant policies and frameworks existed in the
Australian government also focuses on the modification of the legislative structures, along with
changing the applications of different laws. One of the effective modifications is performed in
the elements of Supported Accommodation Assistance Act 1994, through which the
homelessness report chapter3.htm – Parliament of Australia, 2019). Apart from this, the
increasing the budget allocated for improving the condition of homeless older aged people,
through taking financial support from National Affordable Housing Agreement and National
improving the provisions taken against the homeless condition (Homelessness | Department of
Social Services, Australian Government, 2017). Additional to this, Australian government also
prioritises the area of affordable housing policies, for reducing the financial burden from their
life.
Conclusion
Therefore, based on the above discussion, it can be stated that the condition of homelessness
among the Australian population becomes a complicated social issue, which requires effective
and systematic efforts for reducing the constraints of such condition. The long-term planning for
fighting against the homeless condition requires effective involvement of different government
homelessness does not only rise due to the political or governmental issues, various personal
reasons are also enlisted behind this. Therefore, all the people living in the societies and
communities require understanding the situational aspects related with the homelessness
condition, and try to eliminate the possible risk factors for fighting against this societal issue.
The Rise of homelessness in Elderly Australians 14
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