5th August, 2005

DAVID ADAMS

It’s a commonly held misconception that the average homeless person in Australia is a middle-aged or elderly alcoholic male who beds down on park bench or in a vacant doorway at night.

Not so, says national Christian community service organisation Mission Australia.

Cary Pedicini, Victorian state manager, says the organisation is trying to change public perceptions about homelessness and homeless people.

CHALLENGING MISCONCEPTIONS: While many people immediately think of a middle-aged male when it comes to homelessness, in fact the average age of homeless males in Australia is 34 years and 31 years for females. PICTURE: Jordan Chesbrough (IStockphoto.com)   "The traditional stereotype we may have held in the past of the middle-aged male alcoholic sleeping rough is no longer valid as the majority circumstance,” says Cary Pedicini.. “We’re now finding that of the 100,000 odd homeless people on any given night in Australia, 50 per cent of those are aged under 25 and 25 per cent of them are between 12 and 18.”

“The traditional stereotype we may have held in the past of the middle-aged male alcoholic sleeping rough is no longer valid as the majority circumstance,” he says.

“We’re now finding that of the 100,000 odd homeless people on any given night in Australia, 50 per cent of those are aged under 25 and 25 per cent of them are between 12 and 18.”

Figures from Mission Australia show that the average age of homeless males is 34 years and the average of females is 31 years.

Speaking to Sight for National Homeless Persons Week, Pedicini says it’s also important to understand that the concept of “sleeping rough” is only part of the overall picture of the homeless in Australia.

“Only about 14 per cent of those people would be in that sort of circumstance. Sleeping rough is the most visible manifestation of homelessness but then there are the other areas - what we call stop-gap accommodation - where people are staying with friends, living in the loungerooms of other family and relatives...and then those who are living in boarding homes where there’s no security of tenure and moving through to those who are in marginal housing such as in caravan parks. Essentially, we talking about homeless as not having access to safe and secure and adequate housing.”

Pedicini says that while the causes of homelessness are many, poverty, trends towards more casual and part-time jobs, and the limited availability of low cost housing are all contributing factors.

“And then there are a number of general factors which are fairly significant: family breakdown, alcohol and other drug issues, gambling, mental health problems, domestic violence and sexual abuse and other forms of conflicts either with family or friends.”

Mission Australia says a multi-pronged approach is needed to tackle the issue of homelessness including putting greater emphasis on education and life skills, more and better access to low cost housing (Australia’s public housing stock fell to 5.1 per cent of total housing in 2003 compared to 6.1 per cent in 1996), employment assistance and early intervention programs to tackle the issues leading to family breakdown.

Pedicini says that while providing crisis and temporary accomodation is a necessary part of Mission Australia’s work, the latter point - the provision of early intervention programs - is crucial in combating the root causes of homelessness.

He cites a program called Communities for Children taking place in the Frankston-Dandenong area in Melbourne’s south-east which has the next highest incidence of homelessness outside of the city’s CBD.

Being run in partnership with the Federal Government, it involves looking at the nought to five year old age group and assisting with issues associated with the transition of children to primary school.

Pedicini says that many of the programs now being run at Mission Australia include a mentoring element.

“We’re finding with many of our programs now, we’re focusing on the mentoring element where we can connect oung people or people in general who become disengaged with their communities with mentors within their local communities,” he says.

“We’re finding it’s a very important component...whether it’s a program dealing with young people that might have drug issues or whether we’re dealing with new trainees in job placement.

“For example, in Shepparton we’ve just placed 45 young people in traineeship programs and we’ve got a significant mentoring program with that, recognising that these people really do need considerable encouragement and assistance through those initial few months and the 12 months of that traineeship. So we’re connecting them with mentors in the local community and with our staff to help them through.”

Pedicini says that such programs are a practical way people can assist to combat the issue of homelessness in their community.

• Those wishing to support the work of Mission Australia can donate via any Westpac bank or call 1800 88 88 68 or visit the website at www.missionaustralia.com.au.