Background
This research was initiated by Wesley Mission’s Edward Eagar Lodge in conjunction with the University of Western Sydney. It follows a much larger project conducted by Catherine Robinson (2003) entitled Understanding iterative homelessness – the case of people with a mental illness, funded by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI). Funding for this current research was made available by the SAAP Coordination and Development Committee administered by the federal Department for Family and Community Services.
The research focussed on homeless men in inner Sydney, who were clients of the four main SAAP funded crisis accommodation hostels. The NSW State government has initiated interagency coordination through the Partnerships Against Homelessness framework. This framework enabled an Inner City Homelessness Action Plan to be produced which provides opportunities for greater interagency cooperation to be explored and piloted. It was envisaged that this research would contribute to that process. It was also envisaged that the research would provide some insights for Wesley Mission in its deliberations about future directions for service provision at Edward Eagar Lodge.
Aims
The aim of the research was to investigate new models of inter-agency cooperation and coordination for homeless services available to long-term single homeless men. The research design aimed to build upon the existing knowledge of the nature of homelessness and provide insights to practical ways in which service collaboration and integration could be implemented.
Methodology
This research examined the experience of housing and support for long term homeless men. A small sample of 16 single adult men who had experienced multiple episodes of homelessness participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews. The participants were currently using the services or residing in three of the main crisis accommodation hostels inner Sydney, Edward Eagar Lodge, Matthew Talbot Hostel and Foster House.
A series of agency consultations were held involving meetings with management and staff of the hostels, the Homeless Persons Information Centre and Missionbeat.
Key findings
- An examination of SAAP data revealed that the rates of clients who were previously accommodated in institutional settings immediately before their support at the four hostels are notably higher than the state average indicating these agencies are being relied upon as exits point from prison and psychiatric wards.
- Many of the client participants had previously maintained private and public housing tenancies, but changes in circumstances resulted in a return to the streets.
- All client participants had stayed at, at least one of the other three main hostels for homeless men on previous occasions.
- Client participants expressed consistent opinions about their experiences of the hostels where they had stayed, indicating that they exercise a certain degree of choice about where they seek services and support based on, sometimes intangible, factors such as the hostel rules, attitude of staff, sense of safety and companionship.
- All agencies identified as a priority the need for longer term supported accommodation for their clients with complex needs.
Conclusions
There are many initiatives being developed at a local level in the inner Sydney region to create and enhance pathways out of homelessness for the many men and women on the streets and in the hostels. Many of these involve partnerships between hostels and other agencies. Others have been developed internally. Sharing information between agencies about such initiatives will be important for their continued development and adoption by others where appropriate.
Apart from referral of clients, the main model of interagency support between the hostels themselves, however, is Reclink, a network formed among staff at the various hostels who are responsible for living skills and recreational activities for clients. Reclink provides a program of excursions and activities open to clients from all of the hostels made possible through shared resources, pooled expertise and ideas. Reclink activities are highly valued by the clients.
An opportunity exists within the framework of the Partnerships Against Homelessness, for the crisis accommodation agencies involved to acknowledge that the group of clients with high and complex needs is common to all of them. Concentrating specialist resources in one hostel alone runs the risk of excluding access to those who prefer stay elsewhere. It is necessary, therefore, that support structures for this group need to be developed collaboratively and provided equitably, to ensure these clients have the support they need, whichever place they choose to stay.
Recommendations
The research highlights the need for increased long term support options for long term homeless men, particularly those with a mental illness. It shows that the main hostels are the points of stability and familiarity that these men often return to, even after extended tenancies in other housing. The criteria that crisis accommodation be timelimited to three months of support increases the risk of repeated homelessness for this group of individuals who may require a higher level of support over a much longer time.
Because many of these clients are concurrently clients of the health system, in particular receiving assistance for mental health issues, it is recommended that, through the Partnerships Against Homelessness, NSW Health explore how to expand and enhance the specialised support services, especially mental health and drug and alcohol services, provided to clients of crisis accommodation hostels. In particular, it is recommended that increased specialist health resources are allocated to provide:
- Common assessment of clients of hostels identified by staff as having higher level/complex support needs
- Joint case management for clients during their support periods at crisis hostels
- A contact point for staff in hospitals seeking to discharge patients where referrals would otherwise be made directly to the hostels or HPIC
- Linkages between hostels and other mental health services as individuals progress to transitional and/or longer-term housing
- Support for welfare staff in SAAP services to assist clients with mental illnesses.
It will be important that the protocols, resourcing, roles and responsibilities of such a team be negotiated with the key charitable agencies executives and managers of hostels, and the current health service providers.
Edward Eagar Lodge could consider designating a proportion of their beds to establish a medium term transitional accommodation program within the hostel for clients presenting with complex needs. Funding would need to be sought for adequate staffing to enhance initial assessment processes, implement intensive individual support (case management) and provide an outreach program to support clients upon exit.
Given that the client profile is similar in all four crisis accommodation hostels, it is recommended that the Partnerships Against Homelessness initiate discussions on the development of adequate, needs-based rather than submission-based funding. In other words, moving towards a funding model where client to welfare staff ratios are more standardised across the hostels. It will be important, however, to ensure that the autonomy of each agency is retained so that a degree of choice for clients is maintained.
A substantial body of research in recent years has increased awareness and understanding of the complexity of needs and circumstances that result in, and prolong cycles of homelessness for a group of men who make up a large proportion of the clients of SAAP crisis accommodation services in inner Sydney. This research concurs with staff reports that these men make choices about the support they seek and receive. Further research into effective intervention strategies will be important to continue to improve service provision and outcomes for long term homeless men.