National Homeless Persons Week, 4-10 August 2008: response from Lighthouse Foundation

Homelessness on the national agenda – what does this mean?

We have all witnessed a change in thinking on homelessness in this country.

It commenced with our newly elected Prime Minister declaring a plan to tackle homelessness a national priority. He and his MPs visited homeless shelters to understand this priority better.

This was followed up with a Green Paper and a soon to be released White Paper which will set out a national plan of action to 2020.

In April during National Youth Week significant research findings of the National Youth Commission Inquiry into Youth Homelessness were launched. The findings of that independent inquiry were significant and prompted intense debate on the issue.

We all caught a glimpse of homelessness via the ABC’s outstanding documentary The Oasis filmed in and around one extraordinary homeless shelter in Sydney. It was raw, confronting and disturbing.

Recently in Victoria, proposed legislative changes include a recommendation that homelessness be included as an attribute in the proposed new Equality Act. This would make it illegal to discriminate against a person based on homelessness.

Last week the latest Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) data was released. It estimated that about 190,000 people who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless, received some form of assistance from SAAP during 2006-07. This startling increase was viewed by many as a national tragedy and triggered renewed calls for urgent investment in homelessness services.

And this week is National Homeless Person’s Week. Launched in Sydney on Sunday the week presents a calendar of wonderful events around our country involving peak organisations. Events include the launch of innovative new centres and programs, screening DVDs of raw stories, a book launch, photo exhibition, a sausage sizzle and much more.

There is plenty going on. It is all great work. It is about creating a framework for ending homelessness in this country.

But what should we all make of it? It is not the peak homelessness organisations attending the events of this week that need convincing or help with understanding the issue. Does the increased national focus, described above, alleviate or agitate community concern?

I know some of you view a documentary like The Oasis and feel guilt. Or you feel exasperated by how difficult, frustrating and unrelenting the issue is. Dramatic statistics like “on any given night around 100,000 Australians are homeless” is a seemingly intractable problem, one which you as individuals cannot end.

Environmental sustainability and the issue of climate change create similar feelings of guilt - the pressure and expectation to reduce your carbon pollution emissions, to conserve water, to recycle. You are all faced with your own personal challenges – increased interest rates, fuel and food prices, pressures at work, within your families and friendship groups and the maintenance of personal health and happiness.

For me National Homeless Person’s Week is about the people. It’s not about policy papers, new definitions, reports or a forum to shock you. In our work with homeless young people we take small individual steps – provide a roof, stabilise physical and mental well being, build trust, respect, interdependence, empathy. If we focus on the statistics they will eat us up.

The Government’s social inclusion agenda wants to change the debate about disadvantage from one about ‘welfare’ to one about ‘human capacity building’.

A young person in our care has always wanted a garden in her backyard. To grow her own plants and veggies. To look after them and to love them. So she has now planted her plants.

Is this ‘human capacity building’? I am not sure. But I know it will help give her a chance.

Kane Bowden is the CEO of the Lighthouse Foundation. Anna Maloney is a writer for the Lighthouse Foundation.