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The research involved an ethnographic study of Indigenous homelessness WA, trialling the categories developed by Memmott et al. (2003), and connecting the understanding of homelessness with Indigenous housing careers via the AHURI project on Indigenous urban housing careers. The research found that the Indigenous understanding of homelessness, and response to housing need, is shaped by kinship obligations which are deeply embedded in the structure of Indigenous society. Those without housing will approach kinfolk for shelter first, and will usually be given a place to stay. This can conceal the rate of secondary homelessness among Indigenous people and result in permanent overcrowding. It is important to recognise that this is distinct from the cultural practice of visiting kinfolk, which is an important institution amongst Indigenous extended families and may result in temporary overcrowding. Practitioners and homeless people agreed that overcrowding acts as both a hedge against primary homelessness and a force that can result in household breakdown and eviction, especially in ‘drinking households’. A managed overcrowding approach which recognises the high rate of secondary homelessness in the Indigenous community and assists households to maintain their housing may prove an effective approach to the development of new policy addressing Indigenous homelessness.
http://www.ahuri.edu.au/publications/projects/p80368/