Social Work Essay: Homelessness in Australia - Analysis and Reflection

This essay explores the multifaceted issue of homelessness in Australia, examining it through the lens of social work practices. It begins by providing a critical analysis of the historical and current context of social work interventions, highlighting the prevalence of homelessness and the factors contributing to it, such as domestic violence, migration, and inadequate housing. The essay then identifies key contemporary influences on social work, including social, political, economic, and cultural factors, and how these influence the ability of social workers to effectively address homelessness. The essay also discusses the impact of these influences on social workers, including the impact on their professional identity. The essay emphasizes the roles of the government and various organizations in addressing the issue, including funding initiatives and the provision of therapeutic interventions. Overall, the essay underscores the complex interplay of factors that contribute to homelessness and the challenges faced by social workers in their efforts to provide support and assistance to those affected.

Running head: Social issue: homelessness
SOCIAL ISSUE: HOMELESSNESS

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Social issue: homelessness
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Social work towards the perspective of homelessness 3
Identification of the key contemporary influences on the social workers 6
Conclusion 10
Reference List 12

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Social issue: homelessness
Introduction
Men, women as well as young children staying as refugees or under makeshift dwellings
are considered to be homelessness. It has been observed that in Australia, majority of people are
subjected to homelessness. About 2.4% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are subjected to
homeless in Australia. The thesis statement of this current essay is to understand the current
social practices that are carried out in order to minimize the impact of homelessness. This essay
would also focus on the social, economic as well as cultural influences on the social work that
are carried out in order to eradicate homelessness. Finally, personal reflection would also be
highlighted in this essay in order to understand the impact of these cultural as well as economic
influences on the profession of social workers.
Social work towards the perspective of homelessness
Critical analysis of the historical as well as current context of social work practices
Domestic violence has been one of the predominant causative factors behind the
increased prevalence of homelessness in Australia. It has been observed that about 56% of male
has been homeless due to the increased violence (Australian government, 2018). In the year
2010, nearly half of the Australian population has become homeless and nearly two-thirds of that
population is women and child. One of the main roles of social workers is to take care of the
basic amenities of these homeless people. overall prevented these social workers from working
for the homeless people (Council to homeless persons, 2018). Many of these homeless people are
subjected to domestic violence and this affect the mental stability of these people. Therefore, the
social workers should take care of the health of these people. These social workers need to
provide shelter and security to these homeless people. In many instances, homeless people are

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Social issue: homelessness
subjected to mental abuse and this overall affects their well being (Allied Health Professions
Australia, 2018). They remain under constant fear thereby making them paranoid in nature. It has
been observed that about 15% of Australians have financial difficulties while 12% have housing
crisis (Australian government, 2018). Furthermore, it has also been observed that about 10% of
Australians have inadequate dwelling conditions and these factors further attributes to increased
prevalence of homelessness in Australia.
In the past few decades, government has formulated many policies in order to curb down
the rate of increased homelessness. The federal government provides funding to the homeless
people through two national agreements which include The National Affordable Housing
Agreement (NAHA) and The National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness (NPAH)
States and territory government also join their funds in these agreement for better service
provision (Skills and employment, 2018). Under these agreements, almost 1300 organisations are
being funded. Apart from domestic violence, migration from one country to another has been
other contributing factors behind this homelessness. These contributing factors are lack of
financial security, no job, no common language and no local references (Chamberlain, Johnson
and Robinson, 2014). Australian Association of Social workers claimed that the main role of
these social workers is to take care of the health of these homeless people (Australian
Association of Social workers, 2018).
The social workers take care of the wellbeing of the homeless people so that they do not
feel any issue. The Australian government has initiated a National Homelessness Strategy in
order to administer the issues faced by these homeless people. Apart from this, the Australian
Federal government has also initiated a Housing policy that aims in providing basic amenities to
the homeless people irrespective of their race and gender. Therapeutic interventions are

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Social issue: homelessness
provided to these homeless people by the social workers. However, most of the skilled citizens
migrate to other host countries in search of better occupation and foods. Therefore, this overall
affects the economy of the country (Ravenhill, 2016).
In the past five years, Support Accommodation, as well as Assistance program, has
provided numerous resources to the homeless people. These social people also take care of the
critical needs of the homeless people. It has been observed that most of the homeless people are
not provided with adequate amount of food and shelter. This overall affects the physical and
mental health of the homeless people. Therefore, it is the duty of the social workers to take care
of these homeless people and provide them with their required amenities. They remain homeless
and therefore, the social workers provide them with their basic requirements. The national
Homelessness Strategy has largely focused on improving the relationship between the non-
governmental agencies as well as the Central government of Australia (McCalman et al. 2015).
The Australian government has extended their partnership with other countries in order to
mitigate the increased issue of homelessness. The stakeholders of these organisations would
further allow the homeless people with some of the basic amenities that are required for their
better health and condition.
Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) has provided numerous services
to the homeless group in order to improve their health condition. In addition, this program also
has provided shelters for their women refugees in order to improve their condition. It has been
observed that in the year 2001, about 67% of SAAP clients have provided the homeless people
with their basic amenities. The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute provide the
homeless people with their basic needs and requirements (Australian Housing and Urban

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Social issue: homelessness
Research Institute, 2018). It has been observed that this affected group of people are often
neglected in their society and this affects the mental stability of these people.
Furthermore, it has also been seen that the SAAP budget in New South Wales has
increased by about 33%. Therefore, majority of the clients working in SAAP have provided the
homeless people with their requirements and basic necessities in order to lead a normal and
healthy life (Grad Australia, 2018). Therefore, this institute take care of these homeless people.
Moreover, amenities are provided to the group of people that would overall improve the personal
health of the homeless people. State and territory government have also provided the homeless
people with their requirements that allow them to lead a normal life.
In the year 2017, the National Affordable Housing Agreement (NAHA) has partnered
with National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness (NPAH) in order to provide these
affected people regarding their basic amenities. Furthermore, it has also been observed that in the
year 2018, Australian government has provided about $117.2 million to support the homeless
people (McDonald, 2014). Apart from this, the government has also provided about $30 million
investment to the Social impact initiatives to safeguard the lives of the homeless people in
Australia.
Identification of the key contemporary influences on the social workers
Social influence
It has been observed that various social factors have an impact on the working condition
of the social workers. Majority of the social workers are unable to work for the homeless people
under the influence of social factors that are bestowed upon these workers by the local residents.
Religion, cultural diversity and gender are some of the predominant factors that restrict these
social workers from working for the homeless people (Johnson and Watson, 2017). Society does

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Social issue: homelessness
not have an affinity for the homeless people (Bullen, 2015). This kind of reduced affection has
been observed in case of refugees. Most of these refugees migrate to their host countries in
search of better job and shelter. However, the presence of these refugees affect the integrity of
the existing employees and therefore, they are not sympathetic towards these refugees and
homeless people. This attitude affects the social workers from working for the homeless people.
Furthermore, majority of the society do not pay attention towards the needs of the homeless
people (McDonald, 2014). Therefore, this overall affects the social workers towards helping
these homeless people.
Political influence
Political socialization as well as political efficacy has a definite impact on the
social workers and impacts their performance rate. In Australia, the government supports the
social workers by providing them with their amenities that are required in order to help the poor
and homeless people.
Several past encounters have shown that the social workers were not provided with
proper funding and therefore, they could not take care of the homeless people. The homeless
people often suffer from severe malnutrition and therefore, it is the duty of the social workers to
take care of the needs of these people. Therefore, it can be said that these government
investments have a definite impact on the social workers. Adequate therapeutic intervention is
also required for better well being of the affected group of people. Political participation also has
an impact on the social workers and this affects their rate of performance (Wood, Batterham,
Cigdem and Mallett, 2015). Therefore, it can be said that both society, as well as political
factors, have a definite impact on the performances performed by the social workers.
Economic influence

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Social issue: homelessness
There are several economic factors that affect people to do social work. The factors are
economic growth and development, inflation, recession, interest and some others factors. The
social workers depend on the economic growth of the country; if the economic growth of the
country is not good then the government is not able to provide the facilities to the social
organisation to think about social work. The social workers of Australia, who are helping
homeless people, need to have good income so that they can do the social work properly
(McDonald, 2014). During inflation, the social workers get good income, so they can do the
work in good way. But during the time of recession, they are not able to fulfil their own needs so
they face problem to do the social work. As to help homeless people, social workers need
support from the government to provide the homeless people with better facilities.
Cultural influence
Cultural factors like values, beliefs, custom and rituals affect people to do social work. If
refugees come from another country have different customs then it creates problem for social
worker of that country to help them. Social factors are also affected by different behaviours of
people. Some homeless people have different behaviour and they want the best service from the
social worker that is not accepted people (McIntyre, Townsend and Cullen, 2017). Some people
want to do social work but because of the cultural values of their families, they are not able to do
that. Different languages also create problems in social work. People having different religion
sometimes do not want to understand other's religion and this also creates a problem for a social
worker to work. The homeless people having different dress code, religion does not want to live
together and this is a problem of social worker (Wood, Batterham, Cigdem and Mallett, 2015).
Critical reflection of contemporary influences on performance rate of the social workers

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Social issue: homelessness
Political as well as social factors have an impact on the social workers thereby affecting
their rate of performance. Being a social factor, I need to encounter various instances that affect
my profession. Participation of the society is crucial and is often necessary in case of social
performance. Being a social worker, I need to communicate with the local people so that they
could interact with these homeless people. Society does not consider the health of these homeless
people and they are subjected to extreme violence and this affects their wellbeing and mental
stability. Many refugees are not provided with proper food and shelter by the society and this
affects their physical well-being (Steen, 2018). I have often encountered several instances where
society restricts my activities and does not allow me to provide shelter to these homeless people.
The example is when I was looking to open and NGO, I decided to start from my home where a
certain area was unoccupied. My relatives and my neighbours denied as they felt of having a bad
impact on the society. Therefore, I need to ensure them that these homeless people should not be
treated like other normal people. They should not be subjected to any sort of domestic violence.
Economic condition of the country also affects my activities that overall impacts the poor
and homeless people. The charities are funded by governmental organisations and therefore,
depending upon their funding, foods are supplied to the homeless people. I feel that government
provides ample amount of supplies to many organisations however, many private social
organisations do not provide necessities to these homeless people. Therefore, this overall affects
the activities of homeless people and impacts them. Cultural factors also affect the social
workers that ultimately affect the homeless people. In case of non-governmental organisations,
funding is essential that allows us to work for the well being of the homeless people (Influenced
by Whittaker et al. 2015). However, there are various instances, where these non-governmental
organisations are not provided with their basic amenities and this affects the performance rate of

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Social issue: homelessness
the social workers. Society does not pay attention to the necessities of the refugees and they are
often affected. They are the victims of domestic violence and therefore, it can be seen that this
violence affect their integrity.
Therefore, it can be said that these social, cultural, as well as political factors, have
immense impact on the performances of these social workers. Being a social worker, I need to
abide by the political as well as social frameworks of the nation and this affects my activities
towards the homeless people. It is my duty to take care of the homeless people, however; I need
to abide by the governmental regulations (Influenced by McCalman et al. 2015). Based on the
funding of my organisation, basic amenities are provided to the homeless people and therefore,
these factors affect the activities of the social workers.
Conclusion
In Australia, nearly half of the populations are homeless and domestic violence is one of
the major contributing factors. Moreover, high rate of migration has also forced the migrants to
remain homeless in their host countries. It has been observed that several gaps exist in
governmental funding that affects the social workers. Therefore, it is essential that the
government should take initiatives in order to mitigate these issues and allow the social workers
to help the homeless people. The homeless people are often cornered in a society and therefore, it
is the duty of the social workers to take care of them. The Australian government needs to
provide adequate amenities as well as fund the non-governmental organisations in order to
minimize homelessness from Australia.

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Social issue: homelessness
Reference List
Books
Chamberlain, C., Johnson, G., and Robinson, C. (Eds.). (2014). Homelessness in Australia.
Sydney: UNSW Press.
Ravenhill, M. (2016). The culture of homelessness. Abingdon: Routledge.
Journals
Johnson, G., and Watson, J. (2017). International commentary: The implications of the family
options study for family homelessness in Australia. Cityscape, 19(3), 211-218.
McDonald, S. (2014). Social partnerships addressing affordable housing and homelessness in
Australia. International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, 7(2), 218-232.
McIntyre, M., Townsend, C., and Cullen, J. (2017). Responding to the needs of homeless
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people with complex disability: The Guddi
for Young People. Journal of Social Inclusion, 8(2), 81-89.
Steen, A. (2018). The many costs of homelessness. The Medical journal of Australia, 208(4),
167-168.
Wood, G., Batterham, D., Cigdem, M., and Mallett, S. (2015). The structural drivers of
homelessness in Australia 2001-11. AHURI Final Report, 238(238), 1-100.
Online Articles
Bullen, J. (2015). Governing homelessness: The discursive and institutional construction of
homelessness in Australia. Housing, Theory and Society, 32(2), 218-239. [Online]
Retrieved from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14036096.2015.1024886
McCalman, J., Bainbridge, R., Russo, S., Rutherford, K., Tsey, K., Wenitong, M., ... and Jacups,
S. (2015). Psycho-social resilience, vulnerability and suicide prevention: impact

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Social issue: homelessness
evaluation of a mentoring approach to modify suicide risk for remote Indigenous
Australian students at boarding school. BMC public health, 16(1), 98. [Online] Retrieved
from: https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-016-2762-1
Whittaker, E., Swift, W., Flatau, P., Dobbins, T., Schollar-Root, O., and Burns, L. (2015). A
place to call home: study protocol for a longitudinal, mixed methods evaluation of two
housing first adaptations in Sydney, Australia. BMC public health, 15(1), 342. [Online]
Retrieved from: https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-
015-1700-y
Website
Allied Health Professions Australia (2018). Mission. Retrieved from https://ahpa.com.au/our-
members/australian-association-of-social-workers/ on 17th July 2018
Australian Association of Social workers (2018). Social care. Retrieved from
https://www.aasw.asn.au/ on 29th July 2018
Australian government (2018). Homelessness. Retrieved from https://www.dss.gov.au/housing-
support/programmes-services/homelessness on 19th July 2018
Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (2018). Home. Retrieved from
https://www.ahuri.edu.au/ on 19th June 2018
Council to homeless persons (2018). Home. Retrieved from http://chp.org.au/ on 19th June 2018
Grad Australia (2018). Social workers. Retrieved from https://gradaustralia.com.au/charity-
volunteering/a-career-in-social-work on 19th July 2018
Skills and employment (2018). Where social workers are employed. Retrieved from
http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/careers-jobs/choosing-your-career/search-careers-and-
industries/community-services/social-worker on 20th July 2018