In Australia, it is widely believed that most homeless people have mental health issues, and that mental illness is a primary cause of homelessness. This paper uses information from a study of 4291 homeless people in Melbourne to investigate these propositions.

This briefing paper provides a brief overview of the key changes to homelessness policy that were introduced in December 2008 by the federal government’s white paper on the issue. It provides a brief discussion about the different definitions of homelessness and considers the number, location and characteristics of homeless people in Australia and NSW, and...

This is the Series 13 annual report of the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program National Data Collection, and provides an overview of assistance given to clients and their children by the Program in 2007-08.In 2007-08, 1 in every 104 Australians, or 202,500 people, received substantial support from the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP). The total funding...

A secure home is widely recognised as providing a fundamental basis for building mental health. However, for many people with a mental illness, achieving or maintaining stable homes can prove difficult, and some slip into unstable housing or even homelessness. It is essential that mental health issues are a part of any discussion on homelessness...

Case management has been central to homelessness assistance practice in Australia since at least the early 1990s, when it was adopted as a key strategy to enhance the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP). The approach was formally documented in 1997 with the release of the SAAP Case Management Resource Kit. This research synthesis project was...