Combating the stigma of social housing
Many State housing neighbourhoods have become stigmatised partly because government policies have created sites of disadvantage by congregating poor or welfare dependent people together, a new study suggests.
The study, led by Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) researcher Associate Professor Keith Jacobs, found that these neighbourhoods are usually seen, not as a symptom of social inequity, but as a cause of increased social disadvantage.
It also found social (state) housing neighbourhoods were often negatively portrayed in the media creating a popular impression of crime-ridden and welfare-dependent places. Associate Professor Jacobs and his co-authors argue that many of the problems in social housing are linked to a shortage of funds and allocation policies that restrict access to households with high social needs.
They say the social housing sector needs an effective national lobbying effort to push for better government policy as well as an information resource aimed at politicians and bureaucrats.
The authors also say that social housing organisations should make use of media resources to highlight the beneficial effects of social housing and explain the inequities in the overall housing system.
They suggest that community and new social media could be used to challenge stereotypes of social housing presented in the popular press and on TV.
'The most successful attempts at reframing of images of social housing occurs when regeneration communities are able to harness the power of mainstream media outlets, and where ‘counter-arguments’ are utilized against pejorative reporting,' the study says.
But the authors point out that housing organisations face a conundrum when trying to counter negative images. 'Campaigns that draw attention to the problems of social housing can inadvertently reinforce prejudice and stigma. On the other hand, positive stories are less likely to attract the attention of policy-makers and entice the release of new revenue streams.'
The research project, ‘The problem of social housing stigmatisation and innovations that can minimise its effects’, brought together a panel of experts from government, welfare organisations, academia and the media to examine the impact of stigma on social housing residents and suggest policies to mitigate the problem.
The effects of stigmatisation can include low demand for housing in particular neighbourhoods, opposition to social-private mix housing projects and a reluctance by some employers to take on people from particular neighbourhoods, the study found.
It also says there is clear evidence that the stigmatisation of whole neighbourhoods has compounding effects that can intensify disadvantage and contribute to the widening of a rich-poor gulf across the whole of society.
'There are complex reasons as to why social housing neighbourhoods are subject to popular vilification. These neighbourhoods are usually seen, not as a symptom of social inequity, but as a contributory factor that heightens social disadvantage, commonly viewed as havens for crime and sites for policy interventions that reinforce cultures of welfare dependency,' the researchers say.
'From this perspective, the primary reason for why social housing has become so stigmatised can be traced to government policies that have limited access to those households with acute needs. As a consequence, the vast majority of tenants now residing in social housing are there because they have no other options.'
'This reality informs the wider public understandings of social housing and acts as a brake on attempts by state housing authorities, tenants’ groups and welfare lobbyists to highlight the positive contribution made by social housing,' the researchers say.
The researchers say governments should consider channelling some of the money spent on subsidies to private home owners into social housing.
'From our perspective, one of the most pressing tasks is to consider the politics of housing, in particular, the role of powerful interest groups and industry lobbyists in persuading government to maintain significant subsidies to well-off owner occupiers in the form of tax exemptions and first home owner grants,' they say.
'As we noted at the start of the report, social housing, rather than being viewed as a worthwhile investment to promote cohesion, is seen instead as a drain on resources that reinforces poverty.'
Full report: http://www.ahuri.edu.au/publications/projects/p40600
Additional information
Media contact: Laurie Nowell - 0467 073 132.
Website Design Melbourne Australia, Web Hosting, Web Development, by DDSN Interactive.