2020 Summit Participant Wants Your Wisdom and Opinions

[Indigo]

2020 Summit Participant Wants Your Wisdom and Opinions

Dear Forum Members

The Event:

My name is Indigo and I am one of the Australians going to the 2020 Summit. I am included in the Stream: Strengthening Communities, Families and Social Inclusion. Over 100 people will attend this stream and come with various experiences and interests.
You can find out more at: http://www.australia2020.gov.au/topics/communities.cfm

Your thoughts valued:

I have learnt so much from the posts on these forums over the years. Your voices are incredibly important. You've learnt and experienced stuff that policy makers have no idea about. You've survived things that most academics only read about in books. I believe most of the really big, genuine and expert ideas on homeless issues are going to come from the streets. Here's an opportunity for Canberra to listen!

Homelessness and Social Inclusion are two topics that are marked as major priority areas for the Summit discussion. Tanya Plibersek MP, whom some of you may have seen on the panel at the end of the Oasis documentary screening on ABC, will be present. There are several participants whom specialise in homeless issues but some of the best experts in the country are YOU. Your ideas are incredibly valuable, and I hope to take what I can learn from your experiences and wisdom to the Summit.

Some Questions:

I hope forum members might offer ideas on the following, or introduce their own? It can be as long or short as you like.

What do you think the government can do over the next 12 years to protect and assist people experiencing homelessness?

Where or how have they been slow or unresponsive?

Have you seen any great services taken away?

What fresh or greater steps do you think the government can take to improve the prevention of homelessness and or recovery from it?

What can help families stay together?

Have you any ideas on foster care?

If you could bring a fresh idea or tried and tested strategy to the forum, what would it be?


About me:

My own background includes my being adopted as an orphan during the Vietnam War into an Australian family. I am the founder of a resource and support network for this population plus volunteer with numerous other groups devoted to inter-country adoption. Contemporary adoption from Asia and Africa into Australia is also the topic of my PhD thesis. At a broader level, and of more relevance to this forum, my interests also cover child welfare, women’s issues, family support, foster care and homelessness. I don’t believe these topics are necessarily separated. My own submission will be available online from April 14 at: http://www.australia2020.gov.au/submissions/index.cfm

I welcome your feedback on this too.

[Tom.]

Hi Indigo,

A very warm welcome to the homeless forums.

I'm in the UK so I'm not really qualified to comment upon the political side of the homeless situation in Australia. Having said that, what I have discovered from these forums is that the international voice of homeless people is saying more or less the same thing.

I seriously believe that most countries are at a loss to find a lasting solution to homelessness. In some of my writings I refer to the street homeless people as a " by (if not waste) product " of our society, because that is often how I see it. Global society is changing and the make up of the homeless population is changing with it. The day of the ' Tramp ' is almost a thing of the past and a more complex, and indeed, more educated form of a homeless character is now emerging.

If I was to offer a simplistic suggestion as to the way forward to finding a solution to homelessness, then I would suggest affordable housing and a adequate income to finance a quality of life for someone that wants to get a foothold back into mainstream society. Offering street homeless people sub standard accommodation and an inadequate financial income is not an attractive enticement to persuade them from street life. There has to be a practical and viable alternative for them to want to participate.
Talking with homeless people, as opposed to talking at homeless people can also be a more progressive approach, coupled with a fundamental shift in attitude towards the homeless. Far too many people lose sight of the fact that behind the word ' homeless ' there is an individual as unique as anyone else, and to stereotype everyone is both insultive and counterproductive.

I also think that the age old problem of homelessness needs a new approach to finding that satisfactory lasting solution that I refer to. The old methods of dealing with homeles people are only partially successful, they are time consuming and very expensive.

Perhaps your new Prime minister Kevin Rudd can initiate a new approach, if so, I'm sure that many other nations would be watching very closely.

finally, introducing more influential people to these forums is a fundamental step forward in the search for a lasting solution to the very complex issues of homelessness.

[Indigo]

Hi Tom and thanks for your reply. I'm gaining enormous insights from so many threads and posts on this forum.

I attended the QLD pre-summit forum today. We were told that each group of 100 would probably split into discussion groups of around 25 each. This makes sense to me in terms of generating and sharing ideas. Otherwise, all the good input from many is reduced to 2 minutes air time to a huge crowd with differing interests.

From what I can gather, there's a lot of cross-over issues but biggest thing that came out of the short time our group had today was recognition of the problematic connection between imprisoning people, stigma, lack of support (including the 'fair go' to retraining, jobs, housing) and homelessness. In other words, people were looking at a more broader picture for social inclusion. Looking forward to more reading across the forum topics here. Indigo.

[Dominic]

Thanks for posting Indigo, and welcome to the forums.

One issue that comes to mind is the rent assistance provided by Centrelink:
- The rental market is skipping ahead and prices are rising significantly... but the policy around the level of rent assistance offed to Centrelink recipients has not accounted for increasing market prices.
- including the level of rent as a percentage of base income from Centrelink.
= the consequence is fewer centrelink recipients who qualify for a rent assistance payment can apply for current market accommodation based on their capacity to pay that level of rent as a percentage of the centrelink payment.

Centrelink payment levels and rent assistance payment levels are now a causal factor in terms of pricing the poor out of the rental accommodation market and into houselessness. This is placing a significant stress on providers of Crisis Relief payments and crisis relief service providers around the country who are being overwhelmed with calls to help prop up individual and family levels of household income.

The issue of levels of Centrelink payments to aged pensioners has been covered in the media recently highlighting their experience as a demographic typifying this issue.

So the question would be: For Australians whose only source of income is a Centrelink payment - how much money must they have to live on (from Centrelink) after rent is paid / and how does a rent component get sectioned off for those reliant on Centrelink payments and paid up to a level of support that is informed by a realistic baseline of current market prices?

Or - What is the minimum income Centrelink recipients should have to live on after rent has been paid ~ in the current rental accommodation market?

Regarding foster care - apply the same question there. What component of payments are designed to help cover rent ~ how does that level of payment index to reflect current rental prices? If foster carers don't rent but own are they compensated equally given their increased expenses relating to interest rates. This feeds into the question of how the Centrelink programs can better enable foster parents on a financial level given the massive shift in household expenses.

[Dominic]

Foster careers should be empowered to act more like adoptive parents. If they were - the number of young people at the pointy end of youth homelessness would drop off massively.

A show of hands amongst longer term homeless especially youth homeless would reveal a large number of them have been in foster care and quite a number of longer term homeless people have one and in some cases a number of their own children in foster care.

That we can say those who have been in care are more likely to have their own children taken into care... and in many cases be able to say it beyond two generations says a great deal.

Pregnancy is often a causal factor for young females in terms of exiting life on the streets / otherwise it results in another baby for foster care. But the level of success in avoiding a homeless girl's child being taken into care depends on services specifically tailored to support homeless mums exiting street life successfully.

The reason why there is such a cross over and repetition over generations of foster care comes down to this factor in many cases:
- Foster care is not set up to facilitate and empower foster carers to remain and continue in children's lives after they age out = they age out to an inadequate experience of connectedness with family and or community (see answer A below).
- For the top quality go to foster care families who put in excellent care with a significant flow of kids we are setting them up to be unable to truly be a home base family once kids age out of their care... as new foster kids now demand their attention.

Foster parents should be enabled to remain a home base family and provide ongoing support for young people who age out of the system but remain - if we could do this - as someone who has a home base to return to. Children raised by birth parents are connected throughout their adult life with their parents - the constant is they always have a home base they are connected with and they can return to.

Not one of my clients who was in foster care and now has a child in foster care - had a foster care family that was enabled to remain a home base to return too.... after they aged out of care. Unlike adoption, they didn't have a 'family I belong too,' and go back to when they are in trouble and need their Mum or need their Dad.

If you have noticed it too then this may make more sense to you:

Group A - inadequate experience of connectedness with family and or community.

Group B - inadequate experience of shelter.

Which group is which?
Group A: Homeless
Group B: Houseless

If we enable foster care families to continue as a home base to return to for kids that age out of the system then levels of chronic youth homeless who were in foster care would decrease significantly.

Foster careers should be empowered to act more like adoptive parents. If they were - the number of young people at the pointy end of youth homelessness would drop off massively.

[Indigo]

Thanks for these detailed and considered thoughts Dominic. It is only through forums like this that concrete ideas and insights can get shared more widely. There are several people who work with homeless issues and foster care at the Summit and I hope to share what you say with them. It's true that loose ties in the state system assist no one to know they are always loved and do have decent opportunities to be a part of the community they do/will enrich. As for rental assistance, the cost of living has indeed gone further than what people can manage easily or realistically. These are the issues that really need to be heard instead of stories about how 'easy' it is to live off 'welfare'. People can be productive and resourceful under strain, but the strategies and mechanisms just aren't realistic. I think there'll be proper number crunchers as well as service providers that can do much with what you've said. Thanks for this, I know it's draining to be asked again and again what should already be common sense knowledge.

[Tom.]

Hi again Indigo,

A few more lines in addition to what I've said above.

Here in the UK there are many incentives to help people off of the streets and back into mainstream society. I often refer to this as a ' hamster cage.' Everything is in place including toy's (re-hab systems e.t.c.) all waiting for the ' hamster ' (street homeless person) to cooperate.

The state welfare system enables people to get accommodation by paying the rent e.t.c. The actual disposable income, unemployment benefit, (cash in pocket) is in the most part inadequate to cover the household bills associated with being accommodated.

Once accommodated, or housed, every effort is then made to get the individual back to work. In theory that is good. In reality the sort of wage that person can expect to earn is totally insufficient to pay the rent (which he / she will now be required to do) and all the other associated bills of housekeeping. So while some sort of stability can be achieved by being housed on welfare benefits, albeit minimum stability, that stability cannot be maintained by working for a low wage. Consequently many ex-homeless people will endeavour to stay on welfare benefits, not because they want to, but because it makes economical sense to do so. To take a low paid job would not enable them to meet the financial demands of running a home, and in due course they would [again] be on the receiving end of an eviction order.

Many streeties I know have gone that far on the road to recovery, but have ended up back on the streets again because they could not find a job that would pay enough income to sustain the financial requirements, including the rent, of keeping their home. Getting up and being knocked back down again is not a good incentive to leave the street life behind.
I know many ex-streeties that are staying in their homes (or houses) that have no electricity or gas supply because they have been cut off due to unpaid bills. What quality of life is this ?

All in all, street life is preferrable to what the system is offering despite the very expensive and elaborate ' hamster cage ' that it is sponsoring. While we have high rents and low incomes there will always be a street homeless ' by product.'

It would seem that the British governments answer to this would be to encourage migrant workers into Britain. Many of these migrants will live in overcrowded conditions (many to a house) and work for a pittance of a wage. Despite the fact that there is a minimum wage in Britain this can be overlooked at the Governments convenience. With many incomes coming into one household (albeit low incomes) the rent and household bills can be shared and managed by the many residents.
This sort of alien lifestyle is unacceptable to most British nationals and therefore a non starter. The propaganda elements of our society would refer to these natural British born nationals as " Too lazy to go to work " when in truth, they are refusing to accept a lower standard of living that these migrant workers represent.

[Indigo]

Hi there. Delegates have been given their own 'blog' spaces on the internal summit forum (sadly not viewable by public). However, they are read by other 2020 participants. I can forward people's ideas if they'd like onto my page, and have also posted this forums website for people to check out on the main Social Inclusion stream. However, I won't do so without permission or without Dominic's advice.

[Dominic]

You are welcome to introduce the 2020 summit people to the homeless forum community (I think I already said that was fine on email).

Anyway, thanks for the info and I'll draft something today for you on the Third Sector.

[Dominic]

How do we big picture enable the third sector?

By decreasing their expenses.

The third sector is the non-government / non-profit sector of our community.

Many expenses in the third sector are common to all organizations.

Across the board, who says we can't remove certain expenses from this sector?

If we decrease the expenses of the Third Sector we enhance their capacity to do their work with the funds they have.

Obvious common expenses include their ability to communicate... so make postage, land line, mobile and internet free and top shelf for the Third Sector.

This frees up money for development of the Australian community across the board.

What other expenses could be removed to unburden the Third Sector?

There are many examples of how business has already done this, and many many examples of how governments at all levels have exempted members of the Third Sector from one expense or another.

Are we willing to really get out of their way?

The result if we enable the Third Sector would be a greater impact of their already good works in building the community.

How different an Australia we would be if sector wide wind was blown into the sails of the Third Sector.

What other sector wide expenses could be removed so their funds could be more effectively invested in Australia?

Wages and rent come to mind as principal expenses in the Third Sector.

Big picture if we decrease the expenses of the Third Sector their capacity to improve Australia is enabled.

Let's start with a Minister for the Third Sector - whose task it is to improve the capacity of the Third Sector.

[Dominic]

Houselessness is easy fixed - If only Homelessness was Understood.

Turning Homelessness on it's head

If we embrace the concept of houselessness - homelessness can be shown for what it is.

Define: Houselessness - an inadequate experience of shelter.

Define: Homelessness - an inadequate experience of connectedness with family and or community.

Exit strategies:

* Exiting houselessness involves getting adequate shelter.

* Exiting homelessness however involves gaining connectedness with family and or community.

Australia's response to both houselessness and homelessness has failed miserably because the broad understanding and response does not identify houselessness.

If we identify and accept houselessness as a separate issue it is easily solved. Enough shelter can be built to house Australians.

Adequate shelter is an easy fix.

The penny will drop one day that homelessness is not about shelter, and exit pathways will be developed.

But lets be clear homelessness is an inadequate experience of connectedness with family and or community. Buildings and shelter have nothing to do with it.

There will always be people living on the streets.

BTW, if a first world country like Australia can't provide a remedy to those who are houseless - that's a disgrace. Houselessness is easy solved... all it is - is an inadequate experience of shelter.

It's the connectedness with family and community that isn't easily done.

If we accept that houselessness exists, how do we enhance connectedness with community and family before during and after life on the streets?

Homelessness can only be addressed once Houselessness is acknowledged and known as a separate thing.

Then the discussion can really begin - if we acknowledge houselessness... and I describe homelessness as I do....? What conversation follows?

[Indigo]

Post 2020 Summit, there has been some wider debates that may be of interest to people here.

Foster care:

Firstly, the many complexities but profound worthiness of looking at foster care in the national debates can be traced to:-

http://fostercarevictoria.wordpress.com/

Getting word out and disappearing acts at the summit:

Some of the problems and controversies with how 'child' and 'youth homelessness' issues were tackled by the lightening speed process of the summit are raised here:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...016737,00.html

Community Opinions:

There are also some interesting public comments on other blogs such as:

http://blogs.news.com.au/news/blogoc...rting_families

and at the ABC online news service at:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...15/2216958.htm

One clearly good thing to come out of the Summit is that the government representatives emphasized on several occasions that homelessness was a priority area. The symbolism is high and let's hope that some concrete plans get moving. Dominic's ideas were posted on the internal website and will be of great benefit to other participants who work in various community organizations. This forum was also publicized and has people's interest and appreciation.

From my own background areas, adoption was never really raised, unless you count me telling Hugh Jackman that this is what I do over a brief lunch time introduction. His wife is a lobbyist for international adoption but both may need / will hopefully learn from the experiences of adult adoptees.

Potential future ideas for foster care, sadly, were not given much space to be properly fleshed out. Nonetheless, the summit has provided a few avenues in which all ideas and issues will be open for consideration. It will be interesting to see the final summary of the Communities, Families and Social Inclusion stream, which will not be released until the end of the month. Hope to post that here when it is available.

I can't stress how important the voices of homeless people here are in shaping and educating those in the top end of politics and policy making. And a big thanks to Tom, Dominic and others for their wisdom.

Indigo