Indigenous homelessness
in Regional Australia
Presentation by Prof Paul Memmott
Aboriginal Environments Research Centre (AERC)
Institute for Social Science Research and School of Architecture
The University of Queensland
(Produced with support from FaHCSIA and AHURI)
1
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
We were commissioned to do a series of research papers on this topic.
Today I’m going to briefly report on 6 papers.
The first paper is titled:
Why are special services
needed to address
Indigenous homelessness?
(Memmott, Birdsall-Jones and Greenop 2012)
2
Here we put the case that special services are needed to address
Indigenous homelessness due to the culturally specific nature of
this phenomenon.
Patterns of Indigenous culture, albeit at times dysfunctional, are
included in the lifestyles of both public place dwellers and large
households in rental housing, as well as underlying the lifestyles of
those who are experiencing spiritual homelessness. These patterns
are influential both in terms of contributing to the pathways into the
various forms of homelessness and understanding the nature of the
lifestyles of these people in their homeless circumstances.
(raises a cultural relativity argument put by Peter Sutton)
3
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
Culturally specific aspects of such lifestyles include
• cultural identity (including land-based identity),
• kinship practices (including rules where people can
sleep),
• camping behaviour,
• socio-spatial residential groupings,
• externally oriented behaviour,
• circular mobility within socio-geographic (or cultural)
regions, and associated seasonality influences.
Also:
• alcohol consumption style,
• forms of family violence.
4
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
Indigenous pathways into homelessness can involve longitudinal
factors that impact from early childhoods spent in dysfunctional
communities with institutional and marginalised histories. They also
involve situational factors, some of which also derive from colonial
contact histories and directed cultural change. Based on my
empirical research among Indigenous Australians, I have
differentiated three categories of homelessness:
(i)public place dwellers;
(ii)housed people who are nevertheless at risk of homelessness, and
(iii)spiritually homeless people.
5
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
Different combinations of services are needed for individuals in
these different categories. The way Indigenous ‘homelessness’
is defined or categorised influences the types of response
strategies that are implemented by Indigenous organizations,
government and non-government agencies to address this
phenomenon (Memmott et al 2002).
The high priority services that ‘Parkies’ or ‘Long Grassers’ may
want or need are not necessarily always concerned with housing
or accommodation issues.
Holistic problem planning is best done through collaborative
projects (gov’t/NGO/Indig.) with a high degree of Indigenous
control and direction setting.
6
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
A number of critical service response categories to Indigenous
homelessness that are at the forefront of good practice, are also
culturally distinct, being designed to address and intervene in the
types of Aboriginal lifestyle behaviours listed above. Examples
include:•night patrols,
•shaming processes,
•imposed Aboriginal rule and value systems,
•imposed transport of individuals within cultural regions to alternate
residential settings, and
•caring practices by relatives from particular kin categories.
(And more later)
7
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
Indigenous at-risk of homelessness
(hidden or secondary homelessness)
This category covers Indigenous people to whom the phrase ‘at
risk of homelessness’ applies and who reside in some form of
housing but are at risk of losing it or its amenity. They can be
divided into four distinct sub-categories
(i)people lacking secure tenure over their houses or
accommodation;
(ii)people whose housing is architecturally sub-standard rendering it
unsafe or unhealthy;
(iii)people experiencing crowded housing; and
(iv)dysfunctionally mobile persons being in a state of continual or
intermittent residential mobility.
8
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
AHURI Aboriginal Crowding Study
Findings – cultural drivers of large
household formation
Cultural drivers that influence Aboriginal households to become
large households included:•people’s kin ties and desire for an immersive sociality,
(relational personhood theory)
•caring senior women as frequent household heads,
•the cultural trait of demand sharing,
•the cultural trait of mobility in Indigenous communities, and
•householder’s skills in negotiating and policing cultural rules.
9
Categories of Indigenous ‘Homeless’ People
Spiritually homeless people
A state arising from either:
(a)separation from traditional land,
(b)separation from family and kinship networks, or
(c)a crisis of personal identity wherein one’s understanding or
knowledge of how one relates to country, family and Aboriginal
identity systems is confused.
[Current paper on Stolen Generation examples: Cases of Bruce Trevorrow, Jack Charles the actor, etc.]
10
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
The second FaHCSIA research paper is titled:
The Challenge
of Monitoring Growth
in Regional
Indigenous Homelessness
(Memmott, Greenop, Haynes, Clark and Western, 2013)
11
Earlier research
identified 25
regional centres
where Indigenous
homelessness is
regularly reported
by the local
media.
Newman
Geraldton
The critical
question is:
Is it growing?
And how do we
monitor its growth
(or decline)?
12
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
In the 2nd report we examine methodological difficulties with
analysing current Census data on Indigenous homelessness in
these 25 cities of regional Australia, and analyse the cause,
consequences and possible methodological and policy
implications for this metric problem. We argue there is a strong
case for all levels of government, as well as NGOs, to be able to
accurately monitor where growth in Indigenous homelessness is
occurring in regional Australia and where ‘hot spots’ of growth
and anti-social behaviour might be.
13
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
The ABS use of geographical units on homelessness, which
incorporate both urban regional centres and smaller nearby
towns, make town-specific data opaque. This hinders the
possibility of understanding the differences between regional
towns and cities and prevents a meaningful analysis of the
specific incidence and causes of homelessness at local,
regional and broader scales.
14
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
We propose and recommend additional methods for measuring
Indigenous homelessness including in-depth qualitative analysis
and longitudinal data collection to facilitate deeper
understandings of culturally specific aspects of homelessness
such as high Indigenous mobility. We also highlight the possible
use of text analysis software to monitor Internet use of keywords
in relation to homelessness in particular known geographical
areas, to aid in tracking hotspots of activity and interest in
homelessness.
(leximancer)
15
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
If ABS is unable to render such a service, it is recommended that
FaHCSIA commission consultants to carry out scoping studies of
homelessness in regional towns at least once every five years to
monitor whether circumstances are improving or deteriorating in the
24 locations identified in the map.
16
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
The third research paper is titled:
“No Wrong Door?
Managing Indigenous Homeless
Clients in Mt Isa”
CASE STUDY
Jimaylya Topsy Harry Centre: a good practice
response to homelessness in Mt Isa.
(Memmott and Nash 2012)
This is the first of 3 papers on the practice of service delivery.
17
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
The Centre: clients
• Indigenous (c. 30-40 residents)
• ‘Homeless’ and alcoholic
• Complex needs - ‘in crisis’
• Short, medium, long-term and repeated stays – ‘recycling’
18
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
Map of Mt Isa
region showing
the home areas
of most clients
at Jimaylya
Topsy Harry
Centre
(Long 2005:359)
The catchment
of clients
straddling two
State
jurisdictions.
19
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
Plan layout of Jimaylya Topsy Harry Centre,
Duchess Road, Mt Isa.
20
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
Core principles
1. Harm minimisation (drink in moderation in managed environment),
2. Accommodation leading to housing (residential pathway), and
3. Cultural maintenance and the building of social capital and
resilience.
21
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
The Jimaylya Centre:
management and approach
• Founding manager (there 10 years)
• Staff mostly Indigenous
• Residential
• Client-centered
• Case managed
• Training
• Indigenous perspectives prevail
22
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
Staged accommodation
23
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
Programs
• Managed drinking
• TAFE courses: Literacy & Numeracy, Living Skills, Basic
Mechanics
• Support services:
 ATODS
Re alcohol, petrol and glue sniffing
 HHOT
Health Homelessness Outreach Team (daily health check ups)
 RAGOSS
Riverbed Action Group Outreach Support Services
24
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
Managed drinking
Monitor
Photos: Rob Willetts 2011
25
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
Training Room
Christmas Party
26
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
Strengths
• Inclusive
• Point of Entry – a monthly free barbecue (for public place dwellers where
counsellors entice clients into the Centre)
• Safe accommodation
• Case-management by Counsellor
• Managed alcohol consumption (limits set by health practitioners; peer group controlled
to avoid early stoppage by staff)
Challenges
• Housing ‘bottlenecks’ (2 speed economy – high housing demand)
• Clients re-cycling
27
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
Trying to understand where
people fall through the cracks
between services and
become chronically
homeless.
© Paul Memmott,
University of
Queensland
28
Two Key Findings
Addressing Indigenous homelessness:
•Integrated multi-service programs need to be planned at whole
city and regional scales by multi-sector collaborative teams,
taking into account cultural factors in both causal analysis and
solution analysis. (Otherwise people will fall through the cracks)
•At present, the least understood problem component is spiritual
homelessness. This needs urgent attention.
(What’s preventing people returning to their communities? Subsequent case study work happening.)
29
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
The fourth study paper is titled:
“Managing the Shape of
Homelessness in the Western
Australian Mid-West Region”
(Dr Chris Birdsall-Jones, Curtin University, 2013)
30
Topic: Planning at City and Regional Scales
Aim
To examine the response to Aboriginal homelessness in the
context of a designated state housing region, the Midwest Region
of the Department of Housing of Western Australia (towns of
Carnarvon, Meekatharra and Geraldton - the regional centre).
1.What group in the town presented the highest profile of
homelessness?
2.Identify responses by the town practitioners to their needs, and;
3.How coordinated were these agency responses?
31
Three models of response to Aboriginal homelessness were
apparent:
•Meekatharra: a “silo” approach; no coordinated approach toward
delivering effective, targeted services (worse scenario agencies
remain apart and uncommunicative).
•Carnarvon: an informal alliance organisation of agencies, the
Aboriginal community, the shire and the police.
•Geraldton: a similar sort of alliance formalised through a
memorandum of understanding between Aboriginal community
organisations, state and federal agencies, NGOs and the
Combined Universities Centre for Rural Health (CUCRH).
•The region as a whole: little evidence of a coordinated regional
response.
32
One finding was a critical category of people
The presence of children roaming the streets at night is a common
concern for all three research sites; they are at risk of being on a
pathway to homelessness, having become dysfunctionally mobile.
In Meekatharra, a grim picture of child home abandonment owing
to an unsafe home environment caused by drink and drug parties.
The lack of coordination among the various services in town does
not cause this problem but it does prevent a coordinated, effective
solution being developed.
33
The problems faced by the Meekatharra children constituted a
worrying example of the breakdown of the family structure. One
of the most important purposes of Aboriginal family structure is to
provide avenues of help for children whose parents are known to
be failing to look after their children properly, but in Meekatharra
this extended family structure was not serving the needs of the
children in this particular way.
(Attempts were made to foster a culturally based solution to the problem of the night-roaming
children by bringing together a number of the Aboriginal women elders of the town, and taking
these children to their grandmothers’ or their aunts’ homes. This effort failed not because of a
failure of Aboriginal culture but a failure to obtain funding to support the elders’ efforts.)
34
The fifth research paper:
“The Women’s Refuge and
the Crowded House:
Aboriginal Homelessness
Hidden in Tennant Creek”
(Memmott, Nash, Baffour, Greenop, 2013)
35
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
In studying the good practice in the Women’s Refuge we
found:•The Refuge is a microcosm of all the social problems in Tennant
Creek and the Barkly Region
•The case histories of the Refuge are an index of the town’s
hidden homelessness
•To verify that there are many high density households in Tennant
Creek in stress, a basic survey was carefully carried out with
statistical controls
Q. How can an eight-bed Women’s Refuge provide a good
practice service taking in 20 to 60 women per month in a town
with a reported widespread crowding problem?
36
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
Women come
from The Barkly
Region to use
the Refuge.
But also bush
visitors come to
Tennant Creek
for recreation
and drinking.
TENNANT
CREEK
37
Table: Reasons
why women
come to
Tennant Creek
Women’s
Refuge and
how they relate
to categories of
homelessness
and public
place dwelling.
38
Map of Tennant Creek
showing the proportions of
population that are
Indigenous, based on
Collector Districts, at the
2006 Census (ABS 2007).
Note that eight Town
Camps now known as
Community Living Areas
(CLAs).
Our sampling approach
for our survey drew on
knowledge of numbers of
Aboriginal people in the
various Collector Districts
(Town districts and 8 Town
Camps).
Women’s
Refuge
39
Household Survey Results
The survey found for the 80 households sampled, that the average
number of people per household was 9.91 (standard deviation of 4.71).
The average number of people per bedroom per household was
3.14 (standard deviation of 1.52).
Early November 2012.
Location 2 – 8 Community
Living Areas (Town Camps)
40
[optional part of talk]
A stress model of crowding
 Certain personal, social, and physical antecedents
lead to the experience of crowding, including:





A variety of individual differences,
Resource shortages,
The number of other people nearby (density-intensity),
Who those others are, and
What they are doing.
 Sensory overload (eg. noise) and a lack of personal control are
psychological processes central to the experience of crowding.
 The consequences of crowding include physiological,
behavioural, and cognitive effects, including health problems.
(Gifford 2007:217.)
41
Table: Survey findings on extent of (a) official, versus (b & c) self-perceived
crowding and (d) self-perceived stress from crowded conditions
amongst 80 households in Tennant Creek
‘Yes’answer
‘No’answer
One finding is that large households do not necessarily self-perceive themselves
to be crowded.
42
The most critical finding of our analysis is that the mean size of
Indigenous households in Tennant Creek was 9.91 in early
November, whereas the 2011 Census of Tennant Creek gives
household size as 2.9.
The two explanations: (i) the practice of the Census not to count
visitors, and (ii) possible undercount in the Census.
43
Due to the small Barkly population and the high circular mobility, it
is not readily possible for women victims to simply avoid or evade
their families and husbands. Therefore the Refuge clients often
return to their problematic circumstances resulting in a cyclic
pattern of return visits to the Refuge.
44
With the knowledge that there can be an average of around ten
Aboriginal people per house with a range of three to 25 during an
off-peak time of the year in terms of bush visitations, the
understanding of why there are high stress levels amongst many
households and relatively high frequencies of family violence
becomes clearer, and consequently why between 13 and 39 adult
women arrive per month at the Refuge.
45
Most recent (2011) ABS Census figures may mislead because
they do not reveal the full extent of this complex and multifaceted
problem. Most remarkably, the figures do not suggest that there is
a problem in Tennant Creek. Until the policy and funding bodies
understand more fully the details of Aboriginal crowding and
homelessness in the region, the Tennant Creek Women’s Refuge
will remain under-resourced and oversubscribed.
46
Is there room for an improvement in how the Census records
visitors in general (by usual residence definition), and in particular
for Indigenous households?
For by masking or discounting the number and presence of
visitors in regions of high circular mobility, the Census fails to
capture the information that is salient to understanding the
underlying reasons why social problems (including FV and DV)
and personal psychological health problems (including stress) are
prevalent and increasing in particular regional cities of Australia.
47
Summary Research Paper No. 6
“Indigenous homelessness
in Regional Australia”
(Memmott, Nash and Birdsall-Jones, 2013)
48
© Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
6. Final Report
Recommendations 1-4
1. That funding cycles for service agencies extend (3-5 years at least):
• Short funding cycles constrain the planning, management and delivery
of services in the regions and increase risk of homelessness;
• Under-reporting of crowding (hidden homelessness) has led to underrecognition of housing and support services needs; and
• The recruitment, training and retention of Aboriginal staff requires more
funding for services to extend from reactive to proactive programs.
49
2. that policy makers embed a local/cultural perspective into
homelessness:
• Customary cultural practices underlie the particular lifestyles of
Aboriginal homeless and public-place dwellers;
• Understanding Aboriginal homelessness requires a cross-cultural
perspective – certain aspects of culture can counteract
homelessness;
• More refined categories of Indigenous homelessness reflect the
reasons for (or pathways into) homelessness; and
• Spiritual homelessness is a special category of Indigenous
homelessness.
50
3. that support be given to partnerships between different levels of
government and local collaboration between service agencies:
• An holistic approach to homelessness within a region brings better
understanding of the social and economic forces operating on
Aboriginal people.
• Interagency collaboration, including Indigenous and non-Indigenous
organisations is crucial to the effectiveness of service delivery; and
• Integration of services based on partnerships at different levels of
government with community organisations can assist people paths out
of homelessness.
51
4. that the broadest definition of homelessness be used to include all
those people ‘at risk’:
•Many housed people are at risk of homelessness and it is not accurately
revealed in census statistics;
•The high priority services that public place dwellers may want/need are not
always concerned with housing or accommodation, and so cooperation
between agencies can work effectively to address complex needs.
•Finally, we recommend that the Australian Government fund more research on
unstable tenancies and ways of supporting Indigenous people at risk of
homelessness.
52
THE END
53