Homelessness and older Australians: Developing a research evidence base

Petersen, Maree and Jones, Andrew (2011) Homelessness and older Australians: Developing a research evidence base. Parity, 24 9: 31-32.

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Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads
Author Petersen, Maree
Jones, Andrew
Title Homelessness and older Australians: Developing a research evidence base
Journal name Parity
Publication date 2011-10
Sub-type Article
Volume number 24
Issue number 9
ISSN 1032-6170
Start page 31
End page 32
Total pages 2
Place of publication Melbourne, Australia
Publisher Council to Homeless Persons
Collection year 2012
Language eng
Abstract People aged 55 and over constitute approximately one-fifth of Australia’s homeless population, and there is a large, but unquantified, number of older Australians at risk of homelessness due to their precarious housing circumstances. There is at present no systematic approach to addressing this problem and the relative neglect of older homeless people that has characterised homelessness policy since the 1980s continues. Developing a strategy to address homelessness amongst the older population is a core requirement for meeting the goals of Australia’s homelessness strategy. This imperative is strengthened given that Australia’s population is ageing and persons aged 50 and over are predicted to more than double numerically from 2010 to 2050, and to increase as a proportion of the total population from 31.4 per cent in 2010 to 40.0 per cent in 2050. Understanding homelessness amongst older people requires a wide lens that encompasses older people who are homeless now and those who are vulnerable to homelessness in the near future. Many of those at risk of homelessness are so primarily because of the lack of secure, affordable and appropriate rental housing for older people in many parts of Australia. Addressing homelessness for this population group must have a twin focus, firstly on those whose homelessness is associated with long-term major life difficulties such as chronic mental illness, cognitive impairment and substance abuse, and secondly on those whose homelessness is precipitated essentially by termination of a lease or by an unaffordable rent increase and who are unable to find alternative housing.
Q-Index Code CX
Q-Index Status Confirmed Code
Institutional Status UQ

Document type: Journal Article
Sub-type: Article
Collections: Institute for Social Science Research - Publications
Non HERDC
 
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Created: Thu, 22 Mar 2012, 11:04:42 EST by Ms Maree Petersen on behalf of ISSR - Research Groups