Almost half of all people released from the prison system become homeless

A longitudinal study following more than 1,000 homeless Australians and those at risk of homelessness has shown that 42 per cent of people released from prison, juvenile detention or remand in the past six months were found to be homeless.

The findings are presented in the Journeys Home Research Report No. 6, prepared by the Melbourne Institute and commissioned by the Department of Social Services.

Contributing report author Julie Moschion from the University of Melbourne says the study showed the longer the time a person spent in prison, the longer the individual was likely to be homeless.

“The connections between prison time and homelessness suggest there’s a further role for policy makers to prevent the cycle between crime and homelessness,” Dr Moschion says.

“We also found that rates of homelessness were higher for those who experienced physical and sexual violence.”

Risky drinkers and those using illegal drugs like marijuana were more likely to be homeless and stay homeless for longer periods of time.

“Over the 30 month survey period, of those experiencing homelessness, 44 per cent were in this situation for less than 6 months,” Dr Moschion says.

Multiple spells of homelessness were also relatively common, with 40 per cent of those experiencing homelessness cycling in and out of homelessness.

On average, males were homeless for a larger proportion of the survey period (23 per cent) than females (13 per cent). Family contact was also found to be an important factor in preventing homelessness as well as assisting individuals out of homelessness.

The report found that rates of homelessness were also higher in areas with higher housing costs. Those who moved to areas with cheaper housing were more likely to exit homelessness.

The report included three types of homelessness: those without conventional accommodation; those moving frequently between temporary accommodation, and people staying in boarding houses on a medium to long-term basis

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