Don’t go down the road to Gatton

There has been a proliferation of responses to the alarming signs of societal dysfunction. Thirty-seven years ago, a coffee brigade began in Brisbane for the homeless. Today there are dozens of agencies and even regular soccer matches on offer. It is heart-warming to know that there is no shortage of food for the homeless in Brisbane: they are even given a bed-roll. The root causes of homelessness, however, require somewhat more thoughtful analysis.

Incarceration of people with psychotic disorders is often associated with earlier states of homelessness. Evidence based research has shown that incarceration functions as respite, particularly in cold weather. With warmth, food and medication, a few months in prison are equivalent to a few months in hospital. At $161.40 per resident per day (Report on Government Services 2007), this is a cheaper short-term option than hospital for our public coffers. A community-based alternative of peer mentoring in a supportive environment would be less expensive in both dollar and in human costs.

Following a community campaign that dates from the 90s, Richmond Fellowship has been granted a tender from Queensland Health to begin the provision of transition assistance for a small number of our many high-needs forensic mental health clients. Transition to community is a challenging task and it is hoped that the research on homelessness will help inform this important work.

The first of four rounds of federal FACSIA funds for peer mentoring in the community has been announced. Auspicing bodies for the initial roll-out of the PHaMs program are: Open Minds in Brisbane; Youth and family services at Logan; Ozcare at Townsville and on the Sunshine Coast; and the Mental Illness Fellowship of Victoria (via SFQ) on the Gold Coast. It is hoped that exclusion of high-needs clients - a hallmark of some previous work - will gradually lessen as better mutual understandings are gained.

These initiatives show that there are tentative steps that would lead Queensland out of this Dickensian darkness. Such initiatives need to be monitored; fine-tuned; and they need to be better funded.

I find the Gatton option unwise and unacceptable. We already know that appropriate case management produces radically different outcomes. Spending $2.2 billion on housing and $35,370,800 per year on support in the community is a much better path to follow.