Researching 'what works' in early intervention and prevention of homelessness : From systematic reviews to collaborative inquiry

Mechanisms of intervention and the contexts they are used in interact in complex ways. This helps explain why we can’t overgeneralize about what works in respect of models of service designed to prevent or respond to homelessness. This said there are some key messages from the totality of evidence that has been accumulated to date. First homelessness would be a lot easier to prevent for first or subsequent episodes if adequate and appropriate (developmentally/ culturally) housing was available. Second (and often dependent on the first) timely support of a particular character ‘works’ both in a preventive sense and in periods when people experience ongoing challenges which may render them vulnerable to further homelessness. This paper reflects on some of the critical features of how we can generate and use evidence, and how these complement each other in important ways.

Homelessness and leaving care : the experiences of young adults in Queensland and Victoria, and implications for practice

This research first asks ‘What happens when young people leave state care?’ in respect of Victoria and Queensland and second ‘What are the service support implications of this?’ A number of methods were used to explore these questions including semi-structured interviews with 27 young adults aged 19-23 years who had been homeless or at risk of homelessness, and focus groups with young people and service providers. This study provides support for the proposition that young people should be proactively and voluntarily involved in periodic monitoring of their lived experience post care and linkage of this monitoring to the activation of timely support. The great majority of young people involved in this study thought this was not only desirable but important. Whilst some young people will be in close contact with leaving care services many others will not. New research is recommended to develop a mentoring and support activation process using participatory monitoring and action research methods. This type of approach reflects the importance of utilising processes with young people in care and leaving care which acknowledge their personhood and capacity to contribute voluntarily to the processes which seek to support them.

The 'Arc of prosperity' revisited: Homelessness policy change in north western Europe

This paper compares continuity and change in homelessness policy in Ireland, Scotland and Norway with a particular focus on the period of post-crisis austerity measures (2008-2016). The analytical approach draws on institutional theory and the notion of path dependency, which has rarely been applied to comparative homelessness research. The paper compares welfare and housing systems in the three countries prior to presenting a detailed analysis of the conceptualisation and measurement of homelessness; the institutions which address homelessness; and the evidence of change in the post-2008 period. The analysis demonstrates that challenges remain in comparing the nature of homelessness and policy responses across nation states, even where they have a number of similar characteristics, and despite some EU influence towards homelessness policy convergence. Similarly, national-level homelessness policy change could not be interpreted as entirely a result of the external shock of the 2008 general financial crisis, as existing national policy goals and programmes were also influential. Overall, embedded national frameworks and institutions were resilient, but sufficiently flexible to deliver longer term policy shifts in response to the changing nature of the homelessness problem and national policy goals. Institutionalism and path dependency were found to be useful in developing the comparative analysis of homelessness policy change and could be fruitfully applied in future longitudinal, empirical research across a wider range of countries.

Researching homelessness: Challenging exclusion?

This themed issue of Social Inclusion provides a timely opportunity to reflect on how contemporary research is addressing the multi-dimensional issue of homelessness around the world. The papers presented here provide a wide range of new evidence on homelessness including theoretical, methodological and empirical contributions. They draw on a range of national experiences in Europe and beyond, and addressing the issue of social inclusion and social exclusion of homeless or previously homeless people from a range of perspectives and approaches. It is hoped that the contributions to this themed issue will prove influential in terms of both scholarship and potential to enhance policy making and service delivery to some of our most excluded citizens.

A better future for young people leaving care

The Australian National Homelessness Research Agenda funded this study which explored post-care homelessness experiences of young people, asked them what they considered helpful, and identified practice and policy implications. Participants were 48 care leavers aged 19 to 23 years in Queensland and Victoria. Of these 17 young people were interviewed twice over a four month period. In addition focus groups were held with service providers and current postcare service arrangements in the two states mapped. The study found there is a need for policy and practice to more effectively orient towards a holistic and future oriented view of outcomes for young people transitioning from care.

Integrating Responses to Homelessness: The Contribution of Participatory Action Research

In recent years Participatory Action Research (PAR) and other collaborative inquiry processes have been used in a wide variety of program and service contexts. Early childhood services, Indigenous services, youth drug and alcohol services, and education and vocational training support services have all been sites where PAR has been utilized. Action research is important as it helps improve policy and ensures that best practice and experience can be shared.

Social innovation to solve homelessness : wicked solutions for wicked problems

Homelessness is a complex problem that manifests in all societies. This intractable and ‘wicked’ issue resists single-agency solutions and its resolution and requires a large, on-going investment of financial and professional resources that few organisations can sustain. This paper adopts a social innovation framework to examine government and community sector responses to homelessness. While recent evaluations and policy prescriptions have suggested better integrated and more co-ordinated service delivery models for addressing homelessness, there is little understanding of the innovation framework in which alternative service system paradigms emerge. A framework that identifies/distils and explains different innovation levels is put forward. The framework highlights that while government may lead strategic level innovations, community organisations are active in developing innovation at the service and client level. Moreover, community organisations may be unaware of the innovative capacity that resides in their creative responses to resolving social crisis and marginalisation through being without shelter.

A genealogy of the problematic of homelessness and the homeless in Australia

The homeless have been subject to considerable scrutiny, historically and within current social, political and public discourse. The aetiology of homelessness has been the focus of a large body of economic, sociological, historical and political investigation. Importantly, efforts to conceptualise, explain and measure, the phenomenon of homelessness and homeless people has occurred largely within the context of defining “the problem of the homeless” and the generation of solutions to the ‘problem’. There has been little consideration of how and why homelessness has come to be seen, or understood, as a problem, or how this can change across time and/or place. This alternative stream of research has focused on tracing and analysing the relationship between how people experiencing homeless have become a matter of government concern and the manner in which homelessness itself has been problematised. With this in mind this study has analysed the discourses - political, social and economic rationalities and knowledges - which have provided the conditions of possibility for the identification of the homeless and homelessness as a problem needing to be governed and the means for translating these discourses into the applied domain. The aim of this thesis has been to contribute to current knowledge by developing a genealogy of the conditions and rationalities that have underpinned the problematisation of homelessness and the homeless. The outcome of this analysis has been to open up the opportunity to consider alternative governmental possibilities arising from the exposure of the way in which contemporary problematisation and responses have been influenced by the past. An understanding of this process creates an ability to appreciate the intended and unintended consequences for the future direction of public policy and contemporary research.

Policing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people : a gap in the research literature

This article argues for exploring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) young people’s experiences with police. While research examines how factors such as indigeneity influence young peoples’ experiences with police, how sexuality and/or gender identity mediates these relationships remains largely unexplored. Key bodies of research suggest a need to explore this area further, including: literature documenting links between homophobic violence against LGBT young people and outcomes such as homelessness that fall within the gambit of policing work; research showing reluctance of LGBT communities to report crime to police; international research documenting homophobic police attitudes and Australian research demonstrating arguably homophobic court outcomes; and research outlining increasing police support of LGBT communities. Drawing on these bodies of literature, this article argues that LGBT young people experience policing warrants further research.

Risky strategic behaviour : unintended consequences of good intentions in the homelessness service system

The delivery of human services occurs through a complex and often volatile system characterised by both competing and cooperating efforts. A recent strategic intention of government has been to integrate disparate service providers and programs into a more effective and efficient system using competitive funding regimes. A program of amalgamation has also been forecast and promoted as a further mechanism by which to link up smaller agencies thus creating economy and efficiency in the scale and scope of their service modes. Despite the current reliance on competitive funding models and amalgamation as the preferred ways forward for the sector little is known about their integrative capacity including their ability to predict outcomes and their consequences : the ‘unknown unknowns’. Drawing on an extensive data set of human services integration initiatives in Queensland, Australia, this paper examines the impact of government policy and service models and the risks arising from the tensions between competition and accountability on the one hand and the established good will and trust on the other. It is argued that unresolved, these tensions can lead to a weakening of the social infrastructure and make the system more vulnerable to inherent systemic risks. The paper finds that government’s efforts to externalise risk to the non-government sector leads to fragmentation of the service system and fractured collaborative capability. These unintended outcomes themselves have the unintended consequence of leaving governments disconnected from the service system and unable to provide the leadership role and direction necessary for sustained integration. Moreover, facilitating such a leadership role is undermined by behaviours that are directly contrary to collective integration models.

The magic of numbers and the amazing disappearing act : the politics of counting youth homelessness

No-one wants to see young people who are no longer able to stay at home with their parents living in situations that are neither stable nor safe. Most Australians also appreciate that youth homelessness is typically a result of factors beyond the control of young people like poverty, lack of affordable housing, parental divorce or separation, family conflict and violence, sexual abuse, or mental health problems.1 Since the Burdekin Report of 1989 first put the issue on the national agenda, youth homelessness has been a point of some political sensitivity as the numbers of young homeless stayed stubbornly high through the 1990s and into the 2000s.

Preventing first time homelessness amongst older Australians

This research will contribute to improved responses to first time homelessness in later life by analysing the nature of the problem, the precipitating factors and successful interventions. - See more at: http://www.ahuri.edu.au/publications/projects/p21005#sthash.11zLWaMs.dpuf

Can exploring natural recovery from substance misuse in psychosis assist with treatment? A review of current research

Substance misuse in people with psychosis presents significant problems, but trials of treatments to address it show little sustained advantage over control conditions. An examination of mechanisms underpinning unassisted improvements may assist in the refinement of co-morbidity treatments. This study reviewed existing research on natural recovery from substance misuse in people with psychosis. To address this issue, a systematic search identified only 7 articles that fulfilled the criteria. Their results suggest that people with psychosis report similar reasons to change as do non-psychotic groups, although they did not clarify whether the relative frequencies or priority orders were the same. Differences involved issues relating to the disorder and the functional problems faced by this group: receipt of treatment for mental health difficulties, worsening of mental health difficulties, and homelessness. The current research on reasons for change in people with psychosis is sparse and has significant limitations, and as yet it offers little inspiration for new treatments. A more fertile source may prove to be a detailed investigation of successful substance control strategies that are used in self-management by this group.

Homeless young people, families and change.:Family support as a facilitator to exiting homelessness.

The families of homeless young people are most often portrayed as a precipitating factor in their homelessness. However, recent studies, particularly those taking a longitudinal approach, have drawn attention to the enabling role of family members and their positive influence on the housing trajectories of homeless youth. Drawing on selected findings from an ongoing longitudinal qualitative study of homeless young people in Dublin, Ireland, this paper aims to build on this relatively fertile area of research. We demonstrate the supportive role of the families of young people who experience homelessness (often as a consequence of difficult family environments) and specifically examine how family re-engagement is negotiated and achieved. The findings highlight a number of dimensions of transition and change. Prominent among these is the importance of renewed trust and communication. Young people and their parents also had to accept responsibility for areas of life that previously served to undermine their relationships and were implicated in the circumstances surrounding a young person's premature home-leaving. Tensions and resistances on the part of young people are highlighted, demonstrating the adaptive mechanisms at work as they attempt to re-engage with family members. The implications of the findings for social work intervention with homeless youth are discussed.

Young people exiting homelessness: An exploration of process, meaning and definition

In the past decade in particular, research attention has shifted from an almost exclusive focus on routes or pathways into homelessness towards the investigation of exits from homelessness. As well as demonstrating the multiple paths possible for young people who become homeless, recent research, and longitudinal studies in particular, has contributed to a more nuanced understanding of the complexity of the homeless pathways of young people. Nonetheless, knowledge and understanding of the nature of homeless exits, and of the mechanisms that facilitate the transition out of homelessness, is far from complete. This paper explores the processes surrounding the exit routes taken by young people out of homelessness and the meanings attached by them to these housing transitions based on selected findings from an ongoing qualitative longitudinal study of homeless youth in Dublin, Ireland. More broadly, the paper considers the utility of distinguishing between the types of routes that young people take out of homelessness, with particular attention to the notions of ‘independent’ and ‘dependent’ exits. The paper aims to further the discussion and debate on the conceptualisation of homeless exits and also discusses a number of policy implications arising from the study's findings.