6. Exiting chronic homelessness
Street homelessness is visible: Being housed can be invisible
Some members of the community, including some workers and volunteers, might think that once people are chronically homeless they are likely to stay that way. Being homeless can be very public, being safely housed and well supported in the community is far less noticeable.
Sometimes there are no easy answers to homelessness
There are no easy answers to how people exit chronic homelessness.
Some people may not be able to sustain housing until they have dealt with a drug or alcohol addiction.
Some people may not be able to attempt to deal with an addiction until they are housed and in a more stable living situation.
Some people with a mental illness may not be able to sustain housing until they have adequate access to treatment that works for them.
Some people may well be very capable of managing their housing, but due to limited income, are waiting for an affordable or public housing option.
Some people who experience chronic homelessness may have developed excellent skills in coping and managing to live on the streets. They may, however, be less able or less confident in some of the skills needed to manage a home.
People who were brought up in state care, perhaps in an institutional environment, may never have had the opportunity to learn how to cook or manage other common household tasks.
Some people who may have had periods in and out of prison may also have become used to having their meals provided by other people and not learned some important independent living skills.
Other people may have successfully managed a home and family life for many years before they became homeless. They may have not used these skills for some years and have lost their confidence.
Some people may be able to live quite independently as soon as they are able to access affordable housing whilst others may require ongoing support for long periods to help them sustain housing.
Working with people experiencing long term homelessness
The type of work that homelessness workers often have to do is develop a working and trusting relationship with people who are long term homeless before being able to work together with them to find an option that suits the person.
Don’t set people up to fail
It is essential that workers don’t rush this work and ‘set people up to fail’ in an inappropriate housing situation or one which they may not yet be ready to manage.
An inappropriate housing solution may lead to a person becoming homeless again reinforcing sense of failure. It may make attempting to get off the streets in the future that much harder.
Good ‘Outreach’ work
This way of outreach working with long term homeless people is described in a seminal article by Erickson and Page (1999), titled ‘Dancing with Grace’. This article is well worth reading.
People don’t become chronically homeless overnight therefore it is unlikely that this will change in the short term. There have been a number of examples in inner city Sydney where outreach workers and workers in other homelessness services have worked long term with people and this has resulted in a sustained and supported housing outcomes. Three examples are described at the end of this module.
New service models – ‘Housing First’
There are also some new service models, developed in the United States (eg. Common Ground), that indicate that chronically homeless people can sustain housing if they are housed as soon as possible and the support they require is provided to them for as long as it is required.
Ongoing support is sometimes essential
The key ingredients are the provision of appropriate levels of support for as long as may be needed for the person and the availability of safe, secure, affordable housing. Adequate income support, community connections, health and mental health services (as required) and involvement in work or other meaningful activities are also important components that help us to all sustain our long term housing.
Key points
- There are no easy answers to chronic homelessness, everyone is different.
- Working successfully with people who are long term homeless can be long term work.
- Some people may need adequate mental health and/or drug and alcohol treatment before they may be able to sustain long term housing.
- Some people who have multiple problems and complex service needs may always require a high level of support in order to remain housed.
- Some service models suggest it is important to develop working relationships and ensure people acquire or re-acquire good living skills before they may be able to sustain housing.
- Other service models suggest that housing can be provided immediately and the support provided more easily to the person living in a stable situation.
- Important components of sustaining housing, no matter which route is taken are: availability and affordability of housing; appropriate levels of support and health care; community connections and meaningful activity.
