The Research Behind Deconstructing Homelessness
“We don’t want to amplify certain voices”
The above quote was said to me towards the end of 2023, and was the result of following up on feedback for an application I’d submitted to be on a reference group for a department of the Western Australian Government. What shocked me wasn’t the words, as I know these words are often said behind closed doors, it was how freely and openly it was said to me. It was done in a way that conveyed the perceived power relationship that was contained within this interaction.
I’d be lying if I said this statement didn’t affect me, it affected me greatly. For most of 2024 I didn’t seek out new opportunities, I felt extremely self conscious. However, there was something that developed alongside this self consciousness, amplification. The power they perceived they had over me within this interaction was completely incorrect, I don’t need anyone to amplify my voice for me.
I haven’t survived my circumstances by accepting them willingly. And so begun the internal rescripting
“If you don’t want to amplify my voice, I will amplify it myself. If you don’t want me to have a seat at the table, I create a seat for myself. If you remove my seat, I will create my own table.”
This lead to the decision of pursuing a PhD, and combining the research from my PhD into a course that combines my love of teaching with the research I’m undertaking.
This course corrects these perceived power imbalances, not only for myself, but the everyone else that has been subjected to homelessness.
It’s time to see homelessness for what it really is, not a failure of individuals, but consistent failures within complex systems.
It’s time to talk about homelessness differently.
It Starts With A Definition
It may surprise you but there isn’t a clear or coherent definition of homelessness that goes beyond the dictionary. This is problematic for a number of reasons, the main one being that something so complex is often left open to wide interpretation.
Homelessness is usually broadly defined as someone who has nowhere to live. This definition is too broad, and misses many circumstances.
Couch surfers technically have a place to live, so that definition doesn’t really work.
How about someone without a home? Home, or feeling at home is subjective and differs widely depending on culture. Home can mean a locality, a region and isn’t always a structure.
Unhoused doesn’t work either, as it breaks down the vast systemic failures that lead to homelessness to purely a housing issue, which isn’t the case.
This is the problem, how do we define the state of being “homeless” that conveys it appropriately.
As such, this is the definition I created as the foundation of my research, and have used in all of my work going forward:
The Definition of Homelessness
“Homelessness is a social and economic construct that consists of a state of being where social, political and (or) economic needs and autonomy have either never existed or have been systematically removed and (or) eroded.
This state is comprised of trauma(s) that have severely limited one’s ability to participate socially, politically and economically. It limits agency through continued deprivation and disadvantage. It doesn’t occur in isolation; it is a side effect of wider systemic issues.
It endures, not because of those that experience it, but because social, political and economic systems either permit it or are unable / unwilling to change. Homelessness isn’t created by the homeless, it’s curated (either purposely or accidentally) by sets of conditions enabled and perpetuated by wider society.”
(Vapor, 2025)