The Problem of Homelessness of Young People in Australia

If you wanted to examine young people's experiences of homelessness, would you use qualitative methods, or quantitative methods, or a mixed methods approach, and why?

Homelessness is Australia is most commonly explained by a cultural definition (Chamberlain & MacKenzie 2008). By this definition, we find homelessness to be a living situation which does not meet the minimum standard of living amongst the community. This definition reflects on not only the adequacy of the dwelling, but also how secure tenancy is, and whether the tenant has control of their physical and social space (Mallett 2004).

This moves away from the ‘traditional’ definition of homelessness, which can be referred to as primary homelessness, or homeless without shelter. A broader definition is now considered, which also includes secondary homelessness, moving frequently between forms of temporary accommodation, and tertiary homeless ness, living long term in accommodation that falls below community standards for housing (Chamberlain & MacKenzie 2008). The inclusion of varying types of homelessness highlights the understanding of homelessness to be considered without a ‘home’, not just without a ‘roof’ (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011).

According to the 2011 census, 105,237 people in Australia are homeless, with approximately 25% of them being young people aged 12 – 25 (Homelessness Australia 2012). However, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011) states that these figures are severely underestimated, as many homeless young people are not recorded as so in the census. In particular, young people who “couch surf” may not be recorded as homeless, but ‘temporarily staying in another household’, although by definition, these young people may be homeless as the...

... middle of paper ...

...cher can conduct interviews and/or immerse themselves in the world of youth homelessness. This type of research will allow for complexities, and garner a better understanding of the participants' perspectives. The researcher may choose to use a mixed methods approach with a strong qualitative bias, if they were also looking to collect statistics on the participants in order to have an understanding of the demographics of the participants in the study.

This paper has given the reader a brief overview of homelessness in Australia, in particular, youth homelessness. Social research methods have also been explored, looking at the definition of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, and the purpose for each. It has been concluded that in order to examine young people’s experiences of homelessness, researchers should focus on qualitative methods of data collection.