Social Work and Homelessness in Australian Cities
This presentation will report on research currently being undertaken at the University of South Australia in the field of homelessness and social work practice. It will elucidate the themes and dilemmas that have emerged from interviews with social workers in the field, including the changing contributions of social work in the homeless area. These themes will be linked to the broader public discourses relevant to the constructions of homelessness and ‘homeless people’, as evidenced in literature, the print media and policy debates.
The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights 1948, Article 25 declares that every human has a right to live with adequate food, clothing, housing, medical care and essential social services. Despite this, it is widely accepted that homelessness has increased in many industrialised countries. Nationally, the increase in numbers of homeless people has been well documented. From the 1970s onwards, service provision to people experiencing homelessness has increasingly involved professional social workers. Homelessness is a growing concern for social work. The effects of homelessness and social exclusion are increasingly confronting social workers in their daily practice.
This paper presents continuing research on how social workers are currently seeking to promote and enhance citizenship, human rights and social justice, for people experiencing homelessness. Evident from the emerging research findings are numerous constraints on the contemporary context of social work practice, particularly in areas of marginalisation such as homelessness.