Esingham Homeless Under Care Case Study

Homelessness is an issue which stems from a large range of external factors which by themselves are difficult to address. One such contemporary factor in NSW regarding homelessness is the affordability of adequate shelter with the Sydney Morning Herald reporting the median price in Sydney to be $1.15 million. This has made it harder for individuals to afford homes which are adequate as per the requirements of article 11

Homelessness is all our responsibility. Waking every morning in a warm bed in a secure house for some Australians is only a dream. Every day more and more people are becoming or are at risk of becoming homeless as the global economy crumbles away and monetary resources become harder to find. What is homelessness: the Australian Government Department of Health (2005) defines homelessness as a person who is without a conventional home. Homeless Australians have become disconnected from family and friend and has few, if any resource and very little prospect of achieving financial independence without Government assistant. This assessment will talk about Australia’s history with homelessness, it will go onto to talk about the Government’s role

The majority of homeless children and females are victims of domestic violence (NCH, 1998). It is estimated that there are 200 000 homeless people who live on the streets of Canada (Globe and Mail, 1998) and an 80 000 more in risk of becoming homeless (National Post, 1998). Of these people between 30% and 35% are people with severe mental illnesses (National Post, 1998). "On any given night, 45% of the 4 200 people filling Toronto's homeless shelters are families with children" (Toronto Star, 1998). An increasing number of the homeless are teenagers of which many are runaways who have been kicked out or felt they had no choice but to leave (Michaud, Margaret, 1988). It is difficult to find out exactly what age categories the homeless fit into because the information is very limited. -3- WHY THEY ARE HOMELESS There is so many different causes of homelessness the largest being poverty (NCH, 1998). Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, health care and child care. It is hard to make choices when recourses are so limited. Unemployment is also a large contribution to the homeless society (NCH, 1998). Another factor contributing to homelessness is the decline in Social Services. Within the last few years, government has made it increasingly difficult for anyone to be approved to get assistance. There is also the factors of domestic violence which forces many out of their home, mental illness which enables the individuals to obtain

A common misconception of homeless youth is that even if they do become homeless they are not homeless for long. The National Alliance to End

Youth who live on the streets are there for two main reasons either they chose to leave the home because of the living situation or they will leave home because they are kicked out or drugs and alcohol have led them onto the streets. 20% of the homeless population is youth and it is increasing every year because of the changes that our generation is going through and being affected by. The rates of suicide in homeless youth are 10.3 times larger then an average Canadian youth. (McKay, E. (2009). Independent Living Accounts: Leaving Homelessness in the Past.).

Homelessness, especially among the youth (12-24 years of age), is difficult to capture in data due to the invisibility of this population. The homeless and independent youth are, generally, not part of formal institutions like homeless shelters or mental health systems. As a response to the dire circumstances these youths face on a daily basis, they come to rely on internal informal networks that they trust. Consequently, it is common for young, homeless and independent, individuals to temporarily stay with different friends: constantly moving from one couch to another. This network of trust is invaluable to this population and is a potential key for policy makers to look at unconventional methods to identify and address the most pressing needs.

Youth homelessness in Canada is on the rise and it has become one of the most concerning and growing issues across the country. It is estimated that at least 235 000 Canadians experience homelessness at some point every year, 35 000 Canadians experience homelessness every night and approximately 20 % of the homeless population are young people between the ages of 16 and 24(Gaetz et al, 2014). Contrary to popular belief, the leading causes of homelessness youth in Canada are the result of a variety of different factors like economic hardships and unstable housing situations, relational circumstances (family conflict, abuse, discrimination) and system failures. Most homeless people are not on street by choice. In most cases, families facing economic adversities due to poverty and unstable housing situations are unable to support their family members.

Youth homelessness in Australia is classified as someone that does not have a roof over his or her head or a stable and secure place. The main factor causing youth homelessness are domestic and family violence which mainly affects women. A home is not just having shelter it is a feeling of being safe, secure, and having privacy. Primary homelessness is people without any sleeping arrangements and are sleeping under bridges, in malls, or deserted buildings. Secondary homelessness is people that move from place to place they can be in hostels, staying with friends and family, boarding houses, and homelessness services. Tertiary homelessness is people that are living in boarding houses for a medium to long term (Huttstcentre, 2013).

Homelessness does not discriminate. Families with children, single adults, teenagers and older individuals of all races struggle with the devastating effects of homelessness. According to North Carolina Coalition to End Homeless (NCCEH), on one night during the last week of January 2017, 8,962 people experienced homelessness. 73% were sleeping in emergency shelters or transitional housing. 27% were sleeping in unsheltered locations,33% were people in families with children, 67% were adults with no dependent children, and <1% were accompanied children. (NCCEH Data Center) Data plays a crucial role in informing policy decisions about housing and services for homeless persons. Understanding who is homeless and why they are homeless is necessary to end

Homelessness is a social issue that continues to negatively affect individuals, families, and communities across Australia. In 2015, the Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS] reported 351,000 people experienced homelessness in the preceding 12 months, with approximately 28% of these being homeless for 6 months or longer (ABS, 2015). The multifaceted nature of homelessness means people face complex challenges as they try to navigate a way out of homelessness (Miller & Appleton, 2015). Yet, there has been a shortage of research focused on health care usage amongst homeless people (Beijer & Andréasson, 2009). This study aims to gain a better understanding of the intersection between health and homelessness in the Cairns region of north Queensland.

In Australia “homelessness is a cruel reality to around one in every 200 people, especially a vast amount of young Australians with 41% of these homeless Australians being under 25 years of age.”(https://www.kuc.org.au/library/youth-homelessness-the-facts/) Homelessness is not a choice for these young Australians, their previous homing is usually emotionally, mentally and physically unbearable. When they are being composed to such an unbearable environment at a young age it is intolerable for them to remain at home. If they are to stay at their home it is extremely difficult for them to

Homelessness is a state where a person do not have any house to permanently stay in leading themselves to live on the streets or in a temporary accomodation. In Australia, the homeless rates has been increasing consistently where the current rate of male is 56% and 44% of female and 60% of these people are under 34 years old, majority being young adults. A serious inequity issue faced by these homeless individuals is inadequate standard of living. This refers to one’s primary needs which includes food, clothing and shelter that are required or need to meet by all individuals.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2015), in January 2015 approximately 564,708 people have spent one night outside. Also, 25 % out of all homeless people were kids aged 18 or younger. The data from this statistics demonstrate that homelessness is a huge problem that imposes serious issues to public health and leads to many and adverse health outcomes. Nies and McEwen (2015) maintain that there are two way to describe homelessness. The first one is by using the theoretical method and the second one is the legal approach. Regardless of the method used, a homeless person is a person who does not have a place to call his own. Homelessness challenges public health nurses because this complicated matter has been

Problem: Many of the homeless within the community are unable to provide themselves with proper necessities. Over twenty five percent of homeless people live in conditions where health, safety, and opportunities lack. Despite the many organizations now available to assist the homeless, many people still need help. In January 2016, Bridge Communities commissioned a survey to establish the amount of people living in various types of free housing. The data shows that the number of the “unsheltered population increased 3%”(“Bridge Communities Statistics”). This creates a problem for the already large amount of homeless people and for the organizations that attempt to help them. For reasons unknown, many homeless people avoid staying in shelters

It’s no secret to anyone living within Orange County, FL or anyone of the immutable visitors that choose to make Orlando their vacation destination that there is a very real problem with homelessness in our area. When people think of the homeless, they usually picture those under highway bridges or in dilapidated dwellings. These are the visibly homeless. Those that are sometimes forgotten from this demographic are families caught in the grip of abject poverty. This is the demographic that we have chosen to focus our efforts on and help. According to a recent report for the Central Florida Regional Commission on Homelessness, 1 in 17 school aged children are homeless in the region, which is even higher than the already troubling national average