8. Experiences of homelessness
Some people and their stories
The following are stories describing three different people and their experiences of homelessness. The stories have been invented based on known characteristics and experiences of some people who have experienced homelessness.
Read each story then think about the questions at the end of each one. Click on the link at the end of each scenario for an analysis of the possible answers and a description of how these people obtained and sustained housing.
Steve
Steve is 32 years old and sleeping rough at a car park in the inner city. Steve is a poly drug user and dependant on opiates and alcohol. He has a 2 year old daughter he has not seen since she was six months old. Steve has been sleeping rough for three and a half months.
Steve has had a home and has previously been a reliable and hard worker. Steve was a good father for the first six months of his daughter’s life. Steve had a stable relationship.
This is not the first time he has been homeless. Steve has experienced homelessness many times before now and has been in and out of homelessness since he was a teenager.
Steve has been to long term rehabilitation three times, he says he has lost count of the amount of detox admissions he has had. Steve has been in prison on four different sentences – the longest sentence was for seven years for armed robbery.
Steve says he would like to try rehab again and knows that it is his addiction that brings him back to homelessness. Steve has problems accessing services because he has had some violent outbursts when he was using ‘Ice’ and has previously been excluded from some crisis services.
Before this relapse, Steve had been drug free for over a year, was working as a kitchen hand and living in Community Housing in an inner city suburb.
Some questions about Steve
- What might be some of the reasons Steve is currently homeless?
- What are some of Steve’s options; what might help him access and sustain housing?
- If you wanted to help Steve leave homelessness how might you try and engage with him?
Some possible answers and what happened to Steve >
Karen
Karen has just turned 26 and has been living at a refuge in the inner city for three months. She has applied for many private rental properties but with no success to date. She has no records of being a reliable tenant because she has never been on a lease.
Karen has not been homeless before and is getting anxious as she knows that her time at the crisis refuge is running out.
Karen is seven months pregnant. She became homeless when her partner kicked her out of their home. He assaulted her so she stayed with some friends and thought things would cool down. They have fought many times before but he hadn’t hit her. He doesn’t want to be a father. Karen was worried for her baby.
Karen is scared that if she doesn’t get a place to stay that the ‘welfare’ might get involved with her and her baby. She wants to be set up before the birth. Karen has been placed on a public housing list but will not be considered for priority until after the birth of her child. Karen has also put her name on several Community Housing lists.
The only place that may have a vacancy for her is on the North Coast of NSW which has special single units for mums and kids. Karen can go there in three weeks and is thinking about it. She is worried she knows no one there but likes the idea of getting the support from other mums staying with the service.
Karen is in good health with no addiction issues and feels quite well despite the obvious stress of being pregnant and homeless. She has just finished sorting out her situation with Centrelink as she had been financially dependant on her partner. It took a while as she has no license and didn’t have any bills with her name on them for identification.
She needs to pay some rent to the refuge and wants to use the rest to buy some things for her baby and some clothes that are comfortable for her. She is worried about how she might be able to get to the North Coast. Karen’s family don’t know about her situation and she is not ready to talk to them. They do not know she is pregnant.
Some questions about Karen
- What is the main reason that Karen is currently homeless?
- What are some Karen’s options; what might help her access and sustain housing?
- If Karen was still homeless when she gave birth, would child protection authorities need to become involved with Karen and her baby?
Some possible answers and what happened to Karen >
Jack
Jack is in his 40s, but he looks much older. He has been homeless on the streets for at least 10 years. He doesn’t take much notice of other people and has a tendency to rummage in bins. He is often seen talking to himself and sometimes shouts out at people that no one else can see. His personal hygiene is quite poor, he has a long beard and matted hair most of the time.
He has some kind of mental illness and the few workers and volunteers that he has had dealings with over the years know that he can sometimes be quite lucid when he is receiving treatment for his condition. He was evidently brought up in a children’s home and doesn’t seem to have any family.
On rainy nights in winter he often turns up to the local hospital’s emergency department so he can sleep in the warmth of the waiting area. When he is disruptive, security guards have had to ask him to leave. He can get very angry but has never been known to hurt anyone.
Recently a social worker had some involvement with him when he was scheduled to a mental health unit for a few days. She found out he has over $25,000 in his bank account. He doesn’t seem to spend his money but sleeps rough and eats what he finds or what people give him.
Some questions about Jack
- What might be some of the reasons Jack is homeless?
- What are some of Jack’s options; what might help him access and sustain housing?
- If you wanted to help Jack leave homelessness how might you try and engage with him?
Some possible answers and what happened to Jack >
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