Creating Positive Social Environments

Government policy and legislation

***Until relatively recently, the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) has been the Government’s main policy and program response to addressing homelessness. The Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC) replaced the SAAP NDC on 1 July 2011. You can use SHSC as one of your examples on p18.

Take a look at the links supplied and provide a description of each on page 18 of your workbook.

• NSW Homelessness Strategy 2018-2023

• National Housing and Homelessness Agreement (NAHA).

• Commonwealth Rent Assistance

• National Rental Affordability Scheme

Organisations within the community that support the group

Anglicare

Anglicare (2016) offers a range of housing and accommodation services for people whom are experiencing homlessness for a variety of reasons, including refugees, women escaping from domestic violence, youth and those who are economically unstable. They also assist those in crisis by providing practical support and education, allowing the homeless group to learn basic life skills if they may need. Anglicare provides an adequate standard of living and safety and security for those who are in a critical situation, or who have been homeless for longer periods of time. They have a specialised homeless service especially for youth, which is located in Riverina, aiming to support mental health and sense of identity in youth who are living on the streets. However, whilst these services are very beneficial to groups of homeless people, they are only available in certain areas. These areas are Goulburn, Yass and Eurobodalla, which are all in rural parts of NSW. Unfortunately, there are homeless people struggling all over NSW and Australia, which may be in crisis and needing immediate care and support, and whilst phone services are partially useful, it is necessary to have these face to face accomodation services all over Australia so everyone has easy access to them, and so all homeless people can improve their quality of life by achieving a better standard of living and feel much safer.

Salvation Army

Furthermore, the Salvation Army has a much better range of services which are available for the homeless to access in order to satisfy their specific needs. They claim to support all aspects of health, including physical emotional and spiritual, which they have stated clearly on their website. They even include the statement “we journey with them”, which specifically signifies their aims as a service and their goals in assisting homeless people in satisfying all their needs. The first way they do this is by providing education, specifically relating around self care, and the ability to carry out everyday tasks. The Salvation Army makes an effort to encourage the homeless they are working with to make personal goals, which they can assist them in achieving. This can include helping to write a resume to become employed. The Salvation Army also provides accommodation services which provide both an adequate standard of living and safety and security for the people entering. Something that stands out about the assistance The Salvation Army provides, especially in their housing, is their aim to satisfy every person's needs, in whichever situation they may be coming from. They do this by providing group accomodation on site, and also by helping others find appropriate rental properties. This is important, as a lot of homelessness occurs due to domestic violence, and a male or female may need a safe environment to stay for their foreseeable future, and may want to continue working and looking after their children. However, the housing services available are not long term unless the individual can pay rent, which the amount paid depends on the standard of accomodation. This can be challenging for those homeless individuals who are unable to find employment, as eventually they may find themselves back on the streets. This is why the Salvation Army aims to work with the homeless and improve their senses of identity, which helps them feel confident in the attributions and contributions they can make to the wider community in the workforce.

Mission Australia

Mission Australia is a government funded organisation that actively assists in meeting the needs of the homeless in the community. Needs such as adequate standard of living and safety and security can be fulfilled through services such as Mission Australia Housing and providing information about creating action plans when in a domestic violence situation. Mission Australia also contributes to fulfilling a variety of other needs. For example, unemployment is addressed through programs such as ‘Transition to Work’. This program meets the needs of the homeless community by providing necessary skills that are readily available without payment. The importance of health for homeless people is advocated through the many programs, such as the ‘Personal Helpers and Mentors Program’ in which homeless people can receive support for any mental illness. These services fulfil the needs of the homeless extensively through their variety of programs that address each need. Mission Australia is open with it’s business statistics and allows viewers to see that in 2019, 93% of the company’s income went to their services. As a result, this enables donors to see that their money is indeed going to the causes they want and reassures receivers that Mission Australia is an open and honest organisation. However, Mission Australia is subject to some setbacks. As Mission Australia is a Christian organisation, conflicting views can lead individuals in need to turn away. An example of this can be seen in the different views between the GLBTI community, some of which may be homeless and the Church. Homeless people who have experienced emotional trauma from the rejection of the Church may find it difficult to be in a religious environment. However, this situation is inevitable when creating an relief organisation that has a Christian background. Ultimately, the extent to which Mission Australia satisfies the needs of the homeless through their variety of services and programs, outweighs the possible conflicting opinions of part of the group.

Foodbank

Foodbank is a not-for-profit organisation that operates throughout Australia to provide food to those in need, including the homeless. As the largest food relief charity, they provide food to a variety of organisations that deal with food insecurity in the homeless community. By relieving food insecurity in the homeless community, Foodbank are meeting the highest priority need of the group; an adequate standard of living. They manage to fulfil this need extensively as last year, they provided 77 million meals to those in need across Australia (Foodbank, 2019). Foodbank provides homeless individuals with an adequate standard of living by sourcing out food to charities who give out this food from community kitchens and provide prepared meals. This seemingly small need when filled can make a world of difference to a person experiencing homelessness as it equips them with the energy needed to push beyond the economical, social and emotional boundaries holding them back. For this reason, Foodbank assists in satisfying the needs of the homeless to a large extent. It is, however, necessary to question the extent to which Foodbank can satisfy a homeless individuals needs. Foodbank only assists in a small sector of a homeless individuals needs. That being, part of one of the six needs that a homeless person will struggle with. In this way, Foodbank fails at fulfilling a variety of needs in the homeless community. However, it is clear that Foodbank does not just provide food for the homeless and therefore needs to be considered that they may not have a complete focus on this specific group. Therefore, although Foodbank does not fulfil a variety of needs for the homeless community, it is undoubtedly clear that they assist greatly in providing an adequate standard of living for homeless individuals.

Equity issues

Case Description

• Human rights - education, adequate standard of living, right to vote, freedom from discrimination, right to privacy

• Health - lack of equity and equality to adequate health care

• Housing - discrimination, lack of money for bond

• Welfare - difficult to access services like Centrelink due to no fixed address

Contributions the group makes within the community

Make a list of positive contributions the Homeless have made within the community.

Volunteering.

Building a sense of belonging within their own social groups.

Escaping the cycle of poverty to become inspirational leaders for others.

Teach the community to be more passionate.

Teach others not to judge a person by their material wealth.

Advocacy (speaking up for the group’s needs and concerns)

– raising awareness within the community

– educating the community

– promoting the rights of the group

Youth off the Streets

‘Youth Off The Streets’ ​ advocate for the homeless through community organised fundraisers and sporting events, which not only raises money for homeless youth, but also draws awareness to the cause. The organisation’s founder, Father Chris Riley, has written three books advocating for youth by educating their support networks. Further advocacy takes form through the media as a new page, in which success stories and events are highlighted so as to raise awareness and draw in donations. The organisations direct communication with parents and teachers acts as an advocacy for homeless youth, through the spread of knowledge and skills.

Wesley Mission

‘Wesley Mission’ ​ has demonstrated prolonged advocacy for the homeless. Through a weekly television program, documentary films, radio podcasts and a number of books, contemporary forms of communication have been utilised in order to raise awareness to Australia's homelessness issue. The organisation has also involved itself in government inquiries regarding homelessness, in order to advocate for their needs amongst those with authoritative power. Additionally, ​‘Wesley Mission’ ​ advocates for the homeless by being their voice, publishing the stories of many homeless people so that they can be heard, and awareness can be drawn to their needs. ​‘Wesley Mission’ ​ has also constructed various downloadable Fundraising Toolkits, allowing members of the community to advocate for, and draw awareness towards homelessnss.

Positive Influence

Whilst advocacy can have a positive effect on homeless individuals, it can also have positive effects on the attitudes of the wider community. Both ​‘Youth Off The Streets’ ​ and ​‘Wesley Mission’ ​ have advocated for the homeless by educating those around them, allowing for a greater understanding of the issue amongst the wider community. This then addresses common misconceptions on homelessness and subsequently, meet the communities need to feel safe and secure. Misconceptions left unaddressed through advocacy can also result in anger amongst the community, as many may blame the homeless for their circumstances. Spreading awareness alleviates the negative attitudes of the community as they are educated and brought to a greater understanding of the prevalent issue. Advocacy through fundraising has been utilised by ​‘Youth Off The Streets’ ​ and ​‘Wesley Mission’ ​ , promoting positive interactions between the homeless and the wider community. This encourages gratefulness amongst the community, humbling them and providing a positive new outlook on life. By drawing them together, fundraising stimulates a unified community, positively influencing collective attitudes whilst empowering individuals with the knowledge that they are capable of having an impact.

Homeless people have been dehumanised and perceived as less than, accounting for the negative attitudes of the widespread community regarding homelessness. However, the stories of homeless individuals spread by both organisations encourages the community to perceive the homeless as individuals who too, require their needs and rights to be met and thus, positively influencing their attitudes of the homeless. Hearing their stories allows the community to sympathise with those experiencing homelessness, rather than harbour discomfort and negative attitudes that they may have previously held.