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This submission will speak to the Inquiry into Homelessness Terms of Reference regarding the social, economic and policy factors that impact on homelessness, particularly in regards to older people who are at risk of or have experienced elder abuse.
People of any age have a right to safe and secure housing – but this basic human right is tenuous or unachievable for some older Victorians, resulting in increasing numbers of people ageing without a place to call home. The lack of a home impacts on a person’s health and wellbeing and their ability to enjoy many other rights and freedoms. It affects their ability to receive proper health and aged care, and to contribute to and participate in their communities.
Housing stress, low income, and age-related concerns all contribute to an increased vulnerability to homelessness for many older people. This vulnerability can be heightened by family violence, including elder abuse.
The consequences of elder abuse are far-reaching – for the individual, their family and society. Elder abuse can result in family breakdown, poverty, financial stress and poor mental and physical health and wellbeing – all circumstances which can be exacerbated by ageing. In addition, the potential impacts of elder abuse are all factors that make a person more vulnerable to homelessness.
Just as importantly, homelessness can also lead to elder abuse occurring. It is often the homelessness of an adult child who has returned to live with their ageing parent (or never left the family home) which can act as a catalyst for elder abuse. This submission will therefore speak to elder abuse as both a cause and consequence of homelessness, and highlight the need to consider the effects of relevant social, economic or policy factors on older people who have experienced family violence.