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Table of Contents
Background.
The social issue of homelessness.
Impact of the social issue on the population group.
The historical context of social issue.
Structural and critical policy analysis.
Power analysis and stakeholder identification.
Strategic and innovative critical social work practice response.
Use of critical social work theory in responding to the social issue.
The social work refers to the work done for the social welfare of the people living in a community. The critical social work theory is applied to social work practice that seeks to address the social injustices that are common for a group of people or is common in a community. This is not a practice for individualized issues but takes into account the work of social workers on specific social issues faced by the people of a community or various groups. This is a report on the social issue of homelessness that is a common issue in most of the countries. The social issue of homelessness refers to the people who are living outside of homes because they do not have access to housing opportunities. This report is a work that aims to apply the critical social work theory to social work practice. In this report, the social issue of homelessness is examined and presents a critical social work response on this issue. This response will bring about social change and social justice outcomes that will benefit the people who are the victim of homelessness.
Homelessness is a complex social problem that arises due to economic challenges that are faced by the people of a community. This is a social issue because housing is the basic right of individuals and if someone does not have access to the basic right of housing and is suffering from homelessness then this becomes a social issue (Barker, 2016). It is the biggest social problem and is proof of the defect in the society. Many potential reasons result in homelessness like low economic standard, low educational opportunities, lack of affordable housing, poverty and uncertain physical and mental health issues and addictions (Jayasinghe et al., 2020). It is a major problem in society because it is the failure of society to provide adequate systems and support to the people so that they have access to housing. It is a crisis that is a man-made so it can be well ended. This problem is a result of systemic barriers like racism, discrimination, changes in the economy, and significant changes in the policies that address the issue of poverty and so on. This social issue has a significant impact on the quality of life of these people who are homeless (Cronley & Evans, 2017).
The social issue of homelessness is a serious matter of concern for all and the people who experience it have a significant of it on their living especially the chosen population group that is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia (ATSI). They are more likely to experience physical and mental health issues as compared to the general population that have a better quality of life. These people of the community who are experiencing homelessness live in the edges of society and are the victim of poor health and depression. Some of the major consequences of homelessness are loss of self- esteem; they have increased risk of abuse and violence, increased mental health issues and are also at higher risk of development of the behavioural issues (Walter et al., 2016). They become institutionalized and lose the ability to care for self. They become a strain on the community due to their economic disadvantages and poor health conditions.
This social issue is even traumatic and these people experience a multitude of personal challenges that include gender-specific after-effects. Women are more likely to experience trauma, psychological and physical abuse as a result of homelessness. In 2016, 21% of the Indigenous Australians households were renters which were 5% higher as compared to the data in 2001 (Australian Government, 2012). As per the census in 2016, more than 23000 Aboriginal people were homeless and as per the data, Indigenous Australians are 10 times more likely to be homeless as compared to non- Indigenous Australians. This has a significant impact on the living style of these people because they are already disadvantaged people and this makes their living even worse. 12% of Indigenous people are living in the supported accommodation for the homeless and 5% were staying in the temporary households of others (Australian government, 2016).
The homelessness has been a social issue for long now and this has impacted the condition of this country badly. The response to homelessness in Australia began in 1974, as a response to the emergency services. The National Government passed legislation for the people who are homeless to subsidies the construction and running of the temporary accommodation centres and made it mandatory that they should be run by mot- for- profit community-based organizations and the local government. The historical context of this social issue reveals that this has been a long-lasting issue and the government and many social workers have taken some serious steps to address this issue. In 1985, the government of Australia instituted the “Supported Accommodation Assistance Programme (SAAP)" to integrate all the emergency services into one shed and this became a major source of funding for fifteen years (Growns et al., 2018). This aimed to integrate all the national and state-based programs and services for all the people who are experiencing this social issue of homelessness. Then in 1999, the government of Australia released the National Homelessness Strategy that addressed this issue to reduce its numbers and to prevent this issue.
In 2008, the White paper was launched which had an ambition to half the number of people who are experiencing homelessness by 2020. This had three main strategic directions that included closing the gap package for the ATSI Australians. One of the most significant strategies of the government was the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement (NHHA) that prioritizes homelessness cohorts for the women and Indigenous Australians.
The structural and policy analysis includes the analysis of the policies that were built for homeless Indigenous individuals that are Aboriginal people because this had a significant impact on their communities. The structural reasons for homelessness among ATSI people includes the unemployment, housing market, social policies and poverty (O’ Flaherty, 2017). Many policies are designed for the residents of Australia and this draws the basic right of housing back from Indigenous people. The policies for housing opportunities for ATSI should be strong enough to overcome structural impediments. The Indigenous people are more likely to place great emphasis on their relationship with the communities and will establish the accountabilities to the elder people.
The main focus of the government of Australia was on “Closing the Gap” agenda but this did not well address this social issue of housing (Edwards, 2018). The policy analysis states that this was a weak policy step and many changes are required in the structure of this policy so that effectiveness can be observed. There has been a widespread failure in the implementation of the results of the evaluation and the subsequent actions of ATSI people when they were given adequate housing opportunities. These opportunities do not focus on government governance and their main priorities are never addressed. These were weak policies actions and implementations thus relevant changes are required to make it a strong effective policy that is well structured (Barile, Pruitt & Parker, 2019).
The power of “Closing the Gap” was weak and it requires a coherent framework for the evaluation of policies and programs that are specific for Indigenous people. They failed to address the deeper casual issues of this social issue that is homelessness and also failed to consider the factors that are underlying drivers of this disadvantage. The “Closing the Gap” is a joint venture of Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) and some other stakeholders (Pawson et al., 2018). These stakeholders include ATSI people, policy communities and the service providers. They have the most power to use these policies for better implementations and also to suggest relevant changes that are mandatory for effective policy use. AIHW one of the stakeholders of these policies have a role to play like giving statistics and authoritative information for better health and well- being (Scandell, 2019). It is an independent statutory authority and the other stakeholders are also an important part of these policies. There were many steps taken by the social workers and some non- profit organizations that includes a lot of stakeholders and their power to bring about the change is positive. The stakeholders include the people from the churches, community groups of the areas where ATSI people belong to and the government agencies.
The stakeholders that are local and regional authorities have a statutory responsibility for assessment and approving the housing needs (Adams, 2019). The social housing providers jointly work with these local municipalities that aim to give a range of housing opportunities to ATSI people. The public health organisations are those stakeholders that plan effectively to ensure adequate care and support services to these people and also ensure integration of other service providers.
The main failure identified in the actions of Government for addressing the social issue of homelessness among Indigenous Australians is that they do not address the underlying reasons behind this. The social workers have always believed that access to housing is a basic social right and the cause of homelessness was structural. The innovative critical social work practice response will be to analyse the underlying reasons for homeless among ATSI communities that are economic constraints and poverty which are due to inequalities faced by them (Weng & Clark, 2018). The social workers aim to create equality between Indigenous and non- Indigenous people by participating in policy-making practices. The social workers will help these people to maintain their cultural identity by working within their work ethics. Social work ethics will be maintained while constituting socio-political and organisational contexts. They will keep these homeless people beside them and will participate in the political decision-making process to create a socio-political context. The profession of a social worker has some powerful roles like they have a role to play in public questioning of the impact of contemporary individualist trends on homelessness (Fowler, Hovmand, Marcal & Das, 2019).
The social policymaking is a negotiated process that has a powerful role to play in providing welfare to ATSI communities in the homelessness context. They concentrate on the funding arrangements that are current individualised of the structural problem of the homelessness among ATSI community people (Thompson & Stepney, 2017). They play a critical role in and their work includes the welfare of these people also.
The critical social work theory aims to address social injustices and not focuses on individualised issues. These critical theories describe the social issues as rising from multiple oppressions and injustice that is a form of neoliberal governance. Homelessness is not an individualised issue but a social issue that is common among the communities of ATSI people. The critical social work theory applies here in a response to the homelessness of ATSI communities as the social workers work commonly for all and the welfare of their community (Zufferey, 2016). The social worker will not only address this issue of homelessness but also address the inequalities experienced by them that lead to homelessness. There are other basic rights of ATSI people that are not enjoyed by them and the social workers work together for all the basic rights including for the social issue of homelessness.
They look homelessness of ATSI people as a systemic or holistic approach through various theoretical and methodological manners (Kingsley, Foenander & Bailey, 2020). Homelessness and social work is an intersectional approach that aims to give ATSI people an advantage to enjoy their basic rights in all the aspects.
Adams, S. L. (2019). An Action Research Study Designed to Understand and Address the Needs of the Homeless Population (Doctoral dissertation, Capella University).
Australian Government. (2016). Better Indigenous Policies: The role of evaluation. Retrieved from https://www.pc.gov.au/research/supporting/better-indigenous-policies/better-indigenous-policies.pdf
Barile, J. P., Pruitt, A. S., & Parker, J. L. (2019). Identifying and understanding gaps in services for adults experiencing homelessness. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology.
Barker, J. (2016). Conceptualisations of youth homelessness and the role of the family. Routledge Handbook of Youth and Young Adulthood, 235-242.
Cronley, C., & Evans, R. (2017). Studies of resilience among youth experiencing homelessness: A systematic review. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 27(4), 291-310.
Edwards, T. G. (2018). Closing the Gap of the Educational Needs of Homeless Youth: A Case Study of a Mobile School and Youth Learning Center in Los Angeles.
Fowler, P. J., Hovmand, P. S., Marcal, K. E., & Das, S. (2019). Solving homelessness from a complex systems perspective: insights for prevention responses. Annual Review of Public Health, 40, 465-486.
Growns, B., Kinner, S. A., Conroy, E., Baldry, E., & Larney, S. (2018). A systematic review of supported accommodation programs for people released from custody. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(8), 2174-2194.
Jayasinghe, M., Selvanathan, E. A., & Selvanathan, S. (2020). Are effects of violence on life satisfaction gendered? A case study of indigenous Australians. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1-24.
Kingsley, J., Foenander, E., & Bailey, A. (2020). “It’s about community”: Exploring social capital in community gardens across Melbourne, Australia. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 49, 126640.
O'Flaherty, B. (2017). Assessment and prediction in homelessness services and elsewhere. Australian Economic Review, 50(2), 229-235.
Pawson, H., Parsell, C., Saunders, P., Hill, T., & Liu, E. (2018). Australian homelessness monitor 2018.
Scandell, R. S. (2019). Identifying Stakeholders and Barriers to Healthcare for the Homeless of the Metro East Region(Doctoral dissertation, Northcentral University).
Thompson, N., & Stepney, P. (Eds.). (2017). Social work theory and methods: The essentials. Australia: Routledge.
Walter, Z. C., Jetten, J., Dingle, G. A., Parsell, C., & Johnstone, M. (2016). Two pathways through adversity: Predicting well‐being and housing outcomes among homeless service users. British Journal of Social Psychology, 55(2), 357-374.
Weng, S. S., & Clark, P. G. (2018). Working with homeless populations to increase access to services: A social service providers’ perspective through the lens of stereotyping and stigma. Journal of Progressive Human Services, 29(1), 81-101.
Zufferey, C. (2016). Homelessness and social work: An intersectional approach. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.
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