The Trappings of Home: Young Homeless People's Transitions Towards Independent Living

Abstract

In this paper we describe the experiences of young homeless people in Western Australia during their transitions to more permanent accommodation and independent living. For these young homeless people, permanent accommodation provided an opportunity for 'feeling at home' and having a sense of control and stability associated with 'home'. Within this space, these young people wanted to be considered 'normal' home occupiers. In this context, we discuss how young homeless people experience and negotiate the social and cultural understandings of home outside socially accepted pathways of leaving the parental home and becoming 'normal' home occupiers themselves. We show how this experience of home, and the potential it offers previously homeless young people, is interrupted by discourses of youth workers, neighbours and and society at large, which serve to (re)position them outside the community of 'normal' home occupiers. The findings have implications for both policy and the delivery of services to young homeless people.

Couch surfing on the margins: the reliance on temporary living arrangements as a form of homelessness amongst school-aged home leavers

“…Such an acknowledgement may mean turning a more critical eye upon the design and scope of bureaucratic responses to homelessness that focus on emergency shelter and support, and programs of intervention (in education, jobs training, access to state income support; housing assistance or family mediation for example). More importantly, as authors such as Brueckner et al (2011), Robinson (2002b) and Veness (1993Veness ( , 1994 remind us, it is crucial that we question what has been normalised as the home vis-à-vis young people, and the finely grained social mechanisms by which the (young) homeless subject is being produced and rendered marginalised. This indicates Robinson's concern that: .…”

How Stable Is Stable? Defining and Measuring Housing Stability

“…Work that examines the perspectives of service providers and consumers has highlighted that a house alone does not constitute housing stability and that it is not simply a question of tenure (Jakubec, Tomaszewski, Powell, & Osuji, 2012). This research emphasizes support structures that ease the transition into a mainstream life, and these supports can be seen as acting to reinforce the "housing" side of stability (see also Brueckner, Green, & Saggers, 2011;Dornbusch, 1994;Lindsey, 1995;Nemiroff, Aubry, & Klodawsky, 2010;Sylvestre et al, 2009).…”

Self-determination in relation to quality of life in homeless young adults: Direct and indirect effects through psychological distress and social support

“…Survival also places a heavy emphasis on being cautious of others, such as professionals (Kidd, 2003;Thompson et al, 2006). Homeless young adults often feel excluded from society, which can result in their believing that they are not competent enough to maintain themselves in that society (Brueckner, Green, & Saggers, 2011). Their troubled history and challenging living situation contribute to their psychological health problems and their limited social support, which both negatively influence their quality of life (Bearsley & Cummins, 1999;Hubley et al, 2014;Johnson et al, 2005;Lam & Rosenheck, 2000).…”