Homelessness In Australia

Homelessness is an issue which stems from a large range of external factors which by themselves are difficult to address. One such contemporary factor in NSW regarding homelessness is the affordability of adequate shelter with the Sydney Morning Herald reporting the median price in Sydney to be $1.15 million. This has made it harder for individuals to afford homes which are adequate as per the requirements of article 11

The Functionalist theory emphasizes the contributions (functions) that all parts of society (e.g., social institutions) make within society. This theory has contributed to sociology by providing a view “which emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain stability.” (Schafer 2013, pg13)

Homelessness is all our responsibility. Waking every morning in a warm bed in a secure house for some Australians is only a dream. Every day more and more people are becoming or are at risk of becoming homeless as the global economy crumbles away and monetary resources become harder to find. What is homelessness: the Australian Government Department of Health (2005) defines homelessness as a person who is without a conventional home. Homeless Australians have become disconnected from family and friend and has few, if any resource and very little prospect of achieving financial independence without Government assistant. This assessment will talk about Australia’s history with homelessness, it will go onto to talk about the Government’s role

Homelessness is defined as a form of alienation from society as a result of a loss of an affiliate bond such as employment or housing, which links the individual to society (Ravenhill 2008, p. 6). Homelessness can also be divided into three categories; primary, secondary and tertiary homelessness (Limbrick 2006, p. 17). Primary homelessness is experienced by individuals who do not have appropriate housing (Limbrick 2006, p. 17). Secondary homelessness is experienced by individuals (most frequently youth) who regularly move from temporary housing to another (Limbrick 2006, p. 17). Tertiary homelessness is described as individuals residing in housing, which is considered below public standards (Limbrick 2006, p. 17). Homeless youth are considered to be between the ages of fourteen to twenty five (Martijn & Sharpe 2006, p. 1).

Being homeless presents many challenges for youth that they normally live day to day, unable to develop plans for forming a productive life structure. Since many homeless youth don’t have money so they start begging or selling drugs or start prostituting to earn money to cover their basic needs. The basic problem of homelessness is the human need for personal shelter,

Homelessness is a major problem in the United States. An incredibly vulnerable group is the homeless youth due to their young age and lack of education. According to Edidin, Ganim, Hunter, & Karnik (2012) on any particular night in the United States there are ~2 million homeless youth living on the streets, in shelters, or in other temporary accommodation. Youth become homeless for multiple reasons whether it be because they have aged out of foster care, ran from home, were kicked out of their home, or because they have become homeless along with their family members. Within the umbrella categorization of homeless youth there are high at risk subgroups, common misconceptions, and a serious concern of lack of support and medical services.

Homelessness is described as ‘The state of having no home’, however, it is much more than this. A home isn’t a place to sleep, it is where you feel comfortable, a place where you feel safe and protected; And although so many of us have the luxury of having a place we can call home, many don’t, in fact over 0.5% of people are homeless on any given night, while this may not seem much to you, however accounting for Australia’s population, over 255,657 people are homeless on any given night. This number is even more concerning when you discover that people under 18 years of age make up 27% of the homeless population to make matters worse over 17,845 children under 12 years old were counted as homeless. Image if your son or daughter slept every night on a park bench, wondering if they would have any food tomorrow, fearing for their safety; how would that make you feel.

Youth who live on the streets are there for two main reasons either they chose to leave the home because of the living situation or they will leave home because they are kicked out or drugs and alcohol have led them onto the streets. 20% of the homeless population is youth and it is increasing every year because of the changes that our generation is going through and being affected by. The rates of suicide in homeless youth are 10.3 times larger then an average Canadian youth. (McKay, E. (2009). Independent Living Accounts: Leaving Homelessness in the Past.).

Along with the Conflict Perspective, other macro theories will be applied to this topic, for instance, Structural Functionalism – which according to Kendall (2013), is “a society composed of interrelated parts, each of which serves a function and ideally contributes to the overall stability of society” (pg. 21). From this theory, it is customary for homelessness to be part of society in order to maintain an equilibrium of poverty, class distinction, and job creations/innovations. Corresponding to this, Robbins, Chatterjee, & Canda (2012), state that:

Youth homelessness can be define as young individuals, ranging from age 12 to around 25, who are without any support from their families, and are either living on the streets or at a shelter. There are often “referred to as “unaccompanied” youth.” (National Coalition for Homelessness (NCH), 2007). Unaccompanied youths can be categorized as runaway-homeless youths, throwaways, and independent youths. Runaway- homeless youths are youths that leave home without any parental permission. Youths that leave their homes because parents encourage them to leave are categorize as throwaways. The final classified as independent youths who leave home because of family conflicts or other issues. (Aratani, 2009).

Youth homelessness in Australia has become a massive issue. Every over 105,00 people are homeless, which is shocking to me as I thought it would be becoming less as there should be more help out there. (Homelessness Australia, 2012 ). In 2001, there were a total of 9% homeless. According to the 2011 census, 42% of

Functionalism looks at society in aspects of how it contributes to the steadiness/cohesion of the whole society (Anderson, Taylor, & Logio, P. 18). There are many institutions that are looked at that include the economic system, government, education, religion, health care, and family. All of which have different roles and perform different functions to ensure that society operates in a well-ordered manner. An example of this would be how family reproduces, takes care of children, exposes children to culture and heritage, supports other family members, and shares life experiences. Shared values and social stability are keys to this perspective. When this system breaks down it is because people’s needs are not being covered and shared values are deteriorating. When this occurs, it affects all parts of functionalism and the society must achieve

There are a growing number of social problems existing within the Australian society and unfortunately, research does not need to prove this. All it takes is a stroll down the main street of some suburbs to realise the extent of social problems within society. Homelessness is a rising trend that is affecting people of all demographics. Homelessness is more than just a simple disadvantage; with usually many underpinning factors which contribute to it, such as domestic violence, financial stress, mental illness and drug use.

Children of many ages are affected by these tremendous problems resulting from homelessness that have just become greater as time has passed. Homelessness leaves long lasting scars on these children (Crary 2). “The burden places upon these people can influence every facet of their lives; from contraception to early adulthood” (Hart-Shegos 2). All stages of life are affected by this experience of homelessness and severe problems can be caused in every stage.

Functionalist theory is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology. It can be argued that the functionalist theory has made a significant contribution to the study of society. It originates from the work of Emile Durkheim who suggests that social order is possible and society remains stable due to the functioning of several institutions. Everything has a specific function in society and society will always function in harmony. The main institutions studied by functionalism are the family, the education system, religion and crime and deviance.