Prevention and Early Intervention Dr Guy Johnson Senior Research Fellow, RMIT University Presentation for The Salvation Army August 2012

RMIT University©2008 Information Technology Services 2 Duration of homelessness Chronic homelessNewly homeless‘At risk’ of homelessness HOUSED HOMELESS Early intervention Prevention Number and severity of problems increases over time Figure 1: HOMELESS CONTINUUM Transitional homeless Level of complexity

RMIT University©2008 Information Technology Services 3 Orthodox Early InterventionComplex Early Intervention On entry Less complex needs Less extreme social exclusion Little adaptation On entry Complex needs High levels of social exclusion Survival focus  Still connected to mainstream institutions  Lower support needs  Less intensive support  Engaged in homeless subculture  Require specialist interventions (D&A; Therapeutic; etc)  Longer term, intensive support RAPID ACCESS to INDEPENDENT HOUSING Housing Crisis Family Breakdown YOUTH Dissenters Escapers Mental Illness Substance misuse Homelessness is an extensive, complex process. We need very different kinds of interventions to deal with the diverse aspects of the problem (Wolch, Dear and Akita, 1998: 450)

RMIT University©2008 Information Technology Services 4 Slide 4 Table 1: Pathways into adult homelessness PathwayN% Housing crisis73219 Family breakdown45311 Substance abuse65417 Mental illness63116 Youth to Adult Other892 TOTAL * *Rounded to the nearest whole number