There is limited understanding of the nature and extent of older women's homelessness in Australia and how it can be alleviated. The aim of this project is to ascertain the combination of program and ...housing models that is likely to be most effective in addressing older women's homelessness. The data comprise interviews and correspondence with 14 Australian and international stakeholders. The findings draw on insight from housing, gerontology and gender studies, and highlight the need to match welfare and housing programs with the diverse life experiences and current needs of older women. Alongside flagship models of practice in housing provision are assumptions within housing and homelessness sectors of what older women need. There is a lack of understanding that most older women in housing crisis have limited knowledge of the welfare sector, and with provision of mainstream housing (and community aged care if needed) will live independently. Traditional homelessness programs and specialised supportive housing, associated with both seniors and homelessness sectors, are appropriate for women who have lived with ongoing disruption and substantive health concerns. Addressing older women's homelessness in Australia requires a range of services and housing responses, with increased attention given to a discourse of housing - affordable, secure housing - rather than continued discourse of homelessness.
An increasing focus in aged care policy is supporting older people to age at home. However, there is little recognition of the health and independence of older private renters living in a space they ...do not own or control. This paper draws on in-depth interviews and assessments undertaken in the homes of 27 older tenants in the Brisbane environs aiming to understand how renting privately influenced their ability to meet their basic needs. An analysis of the findings highlights the disadvantage experienced by many older private renters. Most older private renters were unable to meet their basic needs given unaffordable rent whilst reliant on the aged pension. Further, with limited access to community aged care including home modifications, the health and independence of older private renters was found to be at risk.
IMPLICATIONS
Community aged care is difficult for older private renters to utilise in Australia, with unaffordable services and tenancy law limiting access to community aged care services including home modifications.
It is vital social workers advocate for the community aged care needs of older private renters in practice and policy settings.
This article explores pathways into homelessness by older Australians, with a particular focus on first-time homelessness. Drawing on a multi-method study including data mining of 561 client records ...and 20 interviews with service providers, the distinctive nature of older people's homelessness is demonstrated. Three pathways to homelessness in later life are identified. With close to 70 per cent of the participants having had a conventional housing history, the article reveals in rich detail the circumstances surrounding critical housing incidents for older Australians. It shows that older people are at risk when they are evicted, are unable to continue to living with family, face unaffordable rent in the private rental market, cannot continue living in inaccessible rental housing, as well as experience a breakdown in an important relationship. The results provide key material to inform the design of services and policy initiatives to prevent and address homelessness for older Australians.
This review identifies how diverse rural community characteristics interact to influence older adults’ capacity to achieve wellness. Through a meta-synthesis of the academic literature, an ecological ...model is developed which classifies environmental determinants of individual wellness for rural older adults in terms of their proximity to the individual. Findings demonstrate that socio-spatial and resource environments play a key role in influencing wellness for rural older adults through fostering and developing individual opportunities and capabilities, promoting positive perceptions of the environment, and in contributing to objective and subjective indicators of health and wellbeing. This is achieved in two distinct ways: indirectly through interactions between the socio-spatial and resource environments, and directly through interactions between the individual and their socio-spatial or resource environments. In addition to contributing to the emerging literature on wellness and rural ageing, this review provides a clearer understanding of how rurality and community interact at different levels to facilitate outcomes for older adults.
•Wellness for rural seniors is influenced by socio-spatial and resource environments.•These environments act directly and indirectly on rural seniors to foster wellness.•Wellness reflects the ability of environments to foster opportunity and capability.•It also reflects positive perceptions of environments, health and wellbeing.
Increasing numbers of older people seek to age at home in their community in western countries including Australia. Whilst this aligns with community aged care policy, the nature and suitability of ...their housing to enable ageing in place, receives less policy attention. The increasing representation of older tenants in the private rental market, with limited resources and precarious tenure highlights the need to understand ageing in place in a privately rented home. This study aimed to explore the relationships between housing accessibility, financial status, health, and independence for older Australians renting privately. Home visits were conducted with 27 older adults, where the SF8, ADL Staircase, the Housing Enabler, the Financial Capability Questionnaire, and the 30:40 indicator of housing stress were completed. This preliminary research found that older private renters lived in inaccessible homes, with high scores on the Housing Enabler (mean = 185) indicating poor access. Inaccessible housing was correlated with worse physical health, lower perceived independence, less independence in instrumental activities of daily living, and activities of daily living being difficult to perform. Older tenants living with higher levels of financial disadvantage were also found to be less independent and have poorer mental health. The research reveals important policy implications for community aged care, housing, and social security, including removing barriers to enable free and easy access to home modifications for older renters experiencing financial disadvantage. Future research should examine a nationally representative, diverse sample of owners, private renters, and social housing tenants to further understand the influence of the home environment, including tenure, on the health and well-being of older adults as they age in place.
Abstract
This article explores the links between older people’s homelessness and family relationships and aims to inform social work practice frameworks. Whilst breakdown in family relationships is ...widely recognised as linked to being at risk of homelessness, there is less understanding of the interplay of family, both positive and negative, with older people’s homelessness. Drawing on a study incorporating data mining of service records, this article aims to provide clarity on supportive and troubled family relationships and their links to housing crises as experienced by older Australians. The findings highlight a number of domains for social work practice including undertaking skilled assessments to understand the strengths and constraints experienced by families. Assessments will then inform intervention to support and provide resources to some families to prevent their older family members’ homelessness and to intervene in both a preventative and empowering way to address elder abuse. The implications for policy, in particular, the need for sectors of housing, aged care and health to intersect, are discussed.
Cost Offsets of Supportive Housing Parsell, Cameron; Petersen, Maree; Culhane, Dennis
British journal of social work,
07/2017, Letnik:
47, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Policy makers and advocates in industrialised economies have increasingly couched arguments for addressing homelessness in cost-offset paradigms. In the USA, there is a robust body of evidence ...demonstrating cost offsets of supportive housing, whereas rigorous evidence from the UK, Europe and Australia is limited. The present article contributes to the evidence base with results drawn from a linked administrative data-set including: police, prison, probation, parole, courts, emergency department, hospital-admitted patients, ambulance, mental health and homelessness services data. The results show that in twelve months when people were homeless, they used on average $48,217 (£25,776) worth of government services; in the twelve months as tenants of supportive housing, the cohort used on average, including the cost of supportive housing, $35,117 (£18,773) in government services. Although social work only infrequently draws on cost arguments to substantiate practice and intervention, the article argues that cost-offset evidence is consistent with social work’s commitment to evidence base practice. Moreover, analysis of services that people use when securely housed compared to homeless adds further evidence to demonstrate that people’s actions, and their status as clients, is mediated by resources and opportunities available.
There is limited understanding of the nature and extent of older women's homelessness in Australia and how it can be alleviated. The aim of this project is to ascertain the combination of program and ...housing models that is likely to be most effective in addressing older women's homelessness. The data comprise interviews and correspondence with 14 Australian and international stakeholders. The findings draw on insight from housing, gerontology and gender studies, and highlight the need to match welfare and housing programs with the diverse life experiences and current needs of older women. Alongside flagship models of practice in housing provision are assumptions within housing and homelessness sectors of what older women need. There is a lack of understanding that most older women in housing crisis have limited knowledge of the welfare sector, and with provision of mainstream housing (and community aged care if needed) will live independently. Traditional homelessness programs and specialised supportive housing, associated with both seniors and homelessness sectors, are appropriate for women who have lived with ongoing disruption and substantive health concerns. Addressing older women's homelessness in Australia requires a range of services and housing responses, with increased attention given to a discourse of housing - affordable, secure housing - rather than continued discourse of homelessness.
