3. Who becomes homeless?
Anybody can experience homelessness
We can all experience an episode of homelessness during our lives.
Crises or other unexpected events can leave any person or family the victim of natural or other disasters that may destroy a home. Unemployment or other financial problems might lead to eviction. Poor physical or mental health can make paid work impossible.
The people who might experience homelessness are ‘all of us’.
Homelessness is usually a brief experience
The majority of people who experience homelessness in Australia do so only very briefly. A much smaller group may experience homelessness for a longer period. An even smaller group experience ‘chronic’ homelessness. The next part of this module will focus on those people who may experience chronic homelessness and who are more likely to also experience ‘primary’ homelessness (that is ‘rough sleeping’).
Have you been homeless?
You may be able to think of a time in your own life when you experienced ‘homelessness’. Perhaps you had moved inter-state and were looking for accommodation. Perhaps you needed to stay with friends or family while waiting to move into your own home. You may not have associated your own experience as being ‘homeless’ because you knew it would be brief and had other plans in mind. Most importantly, you probably had family, friends and other social networks to assist you and did not experience the feeling of disconnection from other members of the community.
