New models of interagency support for long term homeless men 

Current accommodation and support

Number of times to the hostel

The majority of clients had stayed at the hostel where they were interviewed on a previous occasion. There was a slight variation in between the hostels in terms of the number of times the interviewees had accessed the service on a previous occasion. All of the clients interviewed at Matthew Talbot Hostel had stayed there on more than 3 occasions, whereas for four out of five clients of Foster House this was their first stay. The younger age of the client participants at Foster House may explain this variation.

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Length of time at hostel on this occasion

Some clients interviewed at Matthew Talbot and Foster House had stayed beyond the three months normally allocated to clients of SAAP crisis accommodation one had stayed for 25 years. Interviews with staff at Edward Eagar Lodge also reported that there were a few "old timers" still residing there.

Experience of service provided at hostels

A common theme in the client interviews about their current accommodation and support experience was that the help and support offered by staff was highly valued. With a slight variation between hostels, the positive remarks about staff at Matthew Talbot emphasized their non-judgmental attitude, while at Foster House the helpful support provided by the caseworkers was acknowledged by all interviewees there.

A second theme from the interviews was that the clients valued the recreational opportunities available at the hostel. This was particularly noted by clients interviewed at Matthew Talbot Hostel and Edward Eagar Lodge.

There was also some unanimity among clients interviewed about what was good about where they were currently staying. This provides some indication of the qualities of the hostel that clients preferred over other places.

All interviewees at Edward Eagar Lodge expressed satisfaction with having their own room, for privacy and security for their belongings, as well as the freedom movement without curfews.

"It's good having a bed and own room and the freedom to come and go." Jack,39, Edward Eagar Lodge.

For those at Foster House, having a private room was also considered a benefit, but it was the cleanliness of the facility that was remarked upon by all clients there.

"The place looks clean, that's why I like it I guess." Gerry, 25, Foster House.

At the Matthew Talbot, almost all interviewees provided positive comments about the opportunities to do art and craft but also about the companionship they find there.

"They have a good community here. I have friends in the lane." Derek, 43, Matthew Talbot Hostel.

Having opportunities to make friends was also valued by clients of Edward Eagar Lodge.

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Services accessed by clients

Clients accessing a range of services

Most (11) of the clients interviewed regularly used some form of health service, predominantly for medication for mental health problems. None, however, were currently accessing any counselling services. This is consistent with SAAP NDCA figures for services not provided. Housing services were second most commonly used service by the sample group, followed by Centrelink. Few were accessing education, training or employment related services.

Commentary on their experience of using these services was almost all positive. Only one (younger) client expressed the opinion that these services were of no help to him. Specific comments on the use of services included:

• Centrelink outreach service at hostel: "It's good because I don't have to queue." Matthew, Foster House.
• HPIC and Missionbeat: "HPIC and Missionbeat are good services, especially when its raining." Warren, Edward Eagar Lodge.
• Intravenous drug injecting rooms: "It's really helpful big time. It puts you in touch with other services and the staff are really supportive." Patrick, Matthew Talbot Hostel.
• Detox. Units: Detox staff are good and will help you with other needs but there's not much support after detox and you have to wait 6-12 months to get into it." Patrick, Matthew Talbot Hostel.
• Rehabilitation services: "There's not much help with housing after rehab. I think there should be some outreach support with a halfway house for people who have finished rehab." Daniel, Edward Eagar Lodge.

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Past accommodation experiences

Accommodation history

Consistent with the description of iterative homelessness in Robinson's (2003) research, all of the men in the sample had moved between in various forms of accommodation often many times and over many years.

• Five participants had been hospitalized with a mental illness and two had been directly referred to Sydney from regional NSW following hospitalisation.
• Four participants reported that they still had some contact with their parents or other family, two younger participants had recently been living in their parents' home.
• Five of the seven participants who reported to have a history of drug addiction had been through detoxification and rehabilitation programs. Two have returned to using drugs, one is on a methodone program. A concern expressed by these clients was the lack of support following rehabilitation. "There's not much help with housing after rehab.
  I think there should be some outreach support with a halfway house to live with other people who've finished rehab." Daniel, 35, Edward Eagar Lodge
• Two participants had been in prison for drug related offences, one had been in prison seven times.
• Five participants have previously had NSW Department of Housing tenancies but these had been terminated in most cases for failure to pay the rent.
• Those who had previously rented privately had been evicted with a change of landlord or had left because of difficult relations with other tenants. In two cases violence was involved.
• Only one participant had ever owned his own home, but after living there with his wife for ten years, and he returned to an itinerant lifestyle following the breakdown of the relationship, and started using heroin again and has been living in Talbot Lane for 8 months. As this client described his experiences of homelessness: "It's one big merry-go-round. Addiction is the biggest part of homelessness, you become so paranoid and isolated, but if you've got a drug habit it costs less to be on the streets." Patrick, 39, Matthew Talbot Hostel.

The findings from the accommodation histories of these participants are consistent with those in the larger survey by Robinson (2003) that suggest that securing stable, long term accommodation, such as Department of Housing tenancies, does not prevent future episodes of homelessness.

Client reports of hostels where clients have stayed on previous occasions

All clients had stayed at least at one of the other crisis accommodation hostels on a previous occasion. All clients interviewed had experience of the accommodation and services at Matthew Talbot Hostel. This is not surprising given the size of the centre. Only one of the interviewees from Matthew Talbot and Foster House had stayed at Edward Eagar Lodge.

There was more variation in the feelings that interviewees of each hostel had about the other hostels where they had stayed on previous occasions. The movement from one hostel to another is sometimes regarded as ‘churning' where clients are moved on when their time runs out or are rejected for breaches of hostel regulations or for violent behaviour. Only 1 client talked about being "thrown out" from a hostel for violence and one for breaching hostel rules. The more common response indicated that clients were making some self-selection about where they preferred to stay, in a few instances opting to return to live on the streets.

There was a tendency among those participants at Matthew Talbot who had previous experience at Foster House to make the comment that they didn't like the rules at Foster House and preferred the greater freedom they had at Matthew Talbot. On the other hand, the group at Foster House who had previous experience of Matthew Talbot Hostel tended not to like the dormitory arrangement and the associated risk of theft. Contrary to the view that clients are simply going where there is a place available, it seems that clients, within a very limited range, are exercising some choice about which homeless service they will use, based on their experience and on preferences in regards to such factors as a philosophy, structure and/or facilities.

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Future pathways

Desired outcomes

The pathways described by the participants as their desired direction are at one level completely individual. Some prefer to live alone, some prefer to share, some wish to stay close to the inner city where they have contact with the services and networks they are familiar with. Others wish to move out of the city altogether, to move interstate and even travel overseas. A number expressed a desire to stay at the hostel for longer, one participant had stayed at the hostel for 25 years and had no intention of living anywhere else. Having a place with their own bathroom and kitchen was mentioned by about a third of the participants.

At another level, the desired outcomes expressed by participants were similar in that they sought independence, security and opportunities for companionship.

Issues affecting outcomes

Two key factors were reported as likely affect the long term prospects for the participants. First, recovery from drug addiction and/or mental illness was recognised as an ongoing issue which would necessarily require ongoing support. The second was the availability and affordability of suitable housing options. Securing suitable housing and support requires considerable time, and this highlights the need to have some support structures in place during that transition period.