Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cultural definition of homelessness?

“The basic idea underpinning the cultural definition is that there are shared community standards about the minimum accommodation that people can expect to achieve in contemporary society (Chamberlain & MacKenzie, 1992)”. The minimum accommodation for a single person or couple is a small rental flat with a bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom and an element of security of tenure provided by a lease. People living below the ‘cultural standard’ are considered homeless.

1. Primary Homelessness (sleeping rough):

People without conventional accommodation, such as:

• Living on the streets
• Living in parks
• Squatting in derelict buildings
• Using cars and railway carriages for temporary shelter
• Living in improvised dwellings.

2. Secondary Homelessness:

People who move frequently from one form of temporary shelter to another. This covers people using various types of emergency accommodation, such as:

• Hostels and night shelters
• Young people staying in youth refuges
• Women and children escaping family violence (staying at women’s refuges)
  
• People couch surfing, or residing temporarily in other households (because they have no accommodation of their own)
• Those using boarding houses and rooming houses on an occasional or intermittent basis

3. Tertiary Homelessness:

• People who live in single rooms who share bathroom and kitchen facilities with others and who do not have the security of tenure provided by a lease
• People in single rooms in private boarding houses and rooming houses (registered and unregistered)
• Pension-level supported residential services on a medium to long-term basis