Understanding homelessness - new insights with new data

Homelessness imposes significant costs on individuals and society. This research will merge data from a Specialist Homelessness Service provider with unit record files from Australian government Linked Data to better understand the relationship between homelessness interventions, income support patterns and housing trajectories. 

The project will address two research questions:

1. What are the demographic characteristics of Australians who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and used homelessness services? What patterns of income support do those individuals exhibit prior to becoming at risk or homeless?
2. How do the services and activities of the specialist homelessness services provider correlate with the experiences of those at risk of homeless?

The data and analysis will provide an opportunity to better understand pathways into and out of homelessness. It will assist in identifying how programs can be targeted to avoid or mitigate the impact of homelessness and develop appropriate responses.

Lead Researcher: Professor Stephen Whelan, University of Sydney

Project Number:  73346