Chris Chamberlain

Homelessness and Substance Abuse: Which Comes First?

Abstract The present paper uses a social selection and social adaptation framework to investigate whether problematic substance use normally precedes or follows homelessness. Clarifying temporal order is important for policy and program design. The paper uses information from a large dataset (n=4,291) gathered at two services in Melbourne, supplemented by 65 indepth interviews. We found that 43% of the sample had substance abuse problems. Of these people, one-third had substance abuse problems before they became homeless and two-thirds developed these problems after they became homeless. We also found that young people were more at risk of developing substance abuse problems after becoming homeless than older people and that most people with substance abuse issues remain homeless for 12 months or longer. The paper concludes with three policy recommendations.

Pathways into adult homelessness

This article uses information from a large administrative database (N = 3941) to outline five ideal typical pathways into adult homelessness. The pathways are called ‘housing crisis’, ‘family breakdown’, ‘substance abuse’, ‘mental health’ and ‘youth to adult’. Then we explain why people on some pathways remain homeless for longer than others. People on a housing crisis or family breakdown pathway do not form strong friendships in the homeless subculture or accept homelessness as a way of life. Their homelessness is shorter. In contrast, people on the substance abuse and youth to adult pathways often become involved in the homeless subculture and engage in social practices that make it difficult to exit from homelessness. Their homelessness is longer. People on the mental health pathway also experience long-term homelessness, but they do not endorse homelessness as a way of life. They remain homeless because they have few exit options.

Homeless careers : a framework for intervention

Abstract The present paper identifies three ‘homeless careers’ abstracted from the diversity and complexity of individual cases and pathways. These are the ‘youth career’, the ‘housing crisis career’ and the ‘family breakdown career’. The paper discusses the usefulness of the career typology for framing interventions. A core argument is that early intervention involves different forms of practice in each pathway. For young people, early intervention has to occur when they are at the ‘in-and-out’ stage, before they have made a permanent break from family. For adults experiencing housing crisis, early intervention is about providing assistance to people before they lose their accommodation. The family breakdown career commonly involves domestic violence, so although early intervention may involve family reconciliation, in many cases it involves supporting victims of domestic violence to move to alternative, secure accommodation.

From long-term homelessness to stable housing: investigating ‘liminality’

Abstract This paper uses the term ‘liminality’ to refer to the experience of feeling like an outsider when people are transitioning from one housing status (long-term homelessness) to another (housed). Three dimensions of liminality are identified: ‘material’, ‘relational’ and ‘psychological’. The material dimension covers how people feel about their housing and whether they find it difficult to make the transition from homeless to housed. The relational dimension focuses on whether people are able to rebuild relations with family and friends. The psychological dimension includes how people deal with the stigma of homelessness. The paper demonstrates that most people can overcome the material dimension of liminality if they are given appropriate support, but they find it more difficult to overcome the relational and psychological dimensions of liminality. We conclude that moving on from long-term homelessness is not straightforward and we point to the policy implications of these findings.