Faces of Homelessness in the Asia Pacific

Carole Zufferey, Nilan Yu

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781138201927
• eBook ISBN: 9781315475233
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Ethnic Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

Across the Asia Pacific, there are a vast range of experiences of homelessness and an equally diverse range of responses from state systems. Since understandings of homelessness are also heavily dependent on geographical, cultural, and historical contexts, attitudes towards it as a 'social problem' are essentially underpinned by ideological considerations.

With a particular focus on critical and international policy and practice, this book builds upon the current scholarship of homelessness across the Asia Pacific. Through examining and comparing a range of state responses, it explores the differing definitions and lived experiences of the issue in a number of countries, including Japan, China, India, Korea, and Australia. The book analyses a range of key themes from welfare provision and legislation to the services provided and the roles played by non-governmental organisations, whilst also recognising the effects of class, gender and ethnicity on homelessness in the region.

Taking an interdisciplinary approach, Faces of Homelessness in the Asia Pacific will be useful to students and scholars of Social Policy, Urban Sociology, Psychology and Asian Studies.

1
The many faces of homelessness

A critical introduction

Carole Zufferey and Nilan Yu

Introduction

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 25) states that everyone has the right to a standard of living that is adequate for their health and wellbeing, including access to food, clothing, housing, and medical care. However, nearly seven decades since the international community declared housing as a universal right, the lack of adequate shelter affects the lives of hundreds of millions across the globe. There is a diverse range of experiences of homelessness and an equally varied array of responses to homelessness from state systems around the world. This book features critical accounts of lived experiences and state responses to homelessness in selected countries in the Asia Pacific. It is intended for practitioners, students, educators, and researchers engaged with the issue of homelessness. Our aim is to enable readers to gain a broad understanding of what it means to be homeless in this corner of the globe. While the readers of this book will be unlikely to ever really ‘know’ and experience homelessness, we hope that this book will give them a general understanding of what it means to be homeless and how homelessness is regarded in these different countries in the region. The chapters in the book transport readers from one country to another, illustrating the sometimes subtle but more often stark differences in the definitions and lived experiences of homelessness.

We felt the need for this book upon realizing that our understandings of homelessness are very much circumscribed by our situatedness, heavily dependent on geographical, cultural, and historical contexts in which we find ourselves, and from which we draw meanings. We have separately researched homelessness in different countries and contexts, predominantly in the Philippines and in Australia. Our conversations highlighted diverging experiences and perspectives, which gave us the impetus for this book. For example, while the Australian conception of homelessness, as occurring along a continuum of being roofless and houseless to experiencing insecure and inadequate housing (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012) applies to the Philippines, there are distinctive disparities in terms of what constitutes insecure and inadequate housing and the responses that one would expect from state mechanisms. In Australia, relatively generous state supports are in place, which stand in stark contrast with the visceral images of homelessness that can be found in countries like India and the Philippines. We argue that faces of homelessness are shaped by changing global and local contexts, and by intersecting social inequalities, coupled with the highly residual welfare systems of some countries in the region.

Homelessness in the Asia Pacific

This book features sketches of the different faces of homelessness in the Asia Pacific. By ‘faces of homelessness’ we mean the scale, the lived experience, and constructions of homelessness as manifested in state responses to the issue. Asia and the Pacific is home to 4.3 billion people – 60% of the world’s population (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific [UNESCAP], 2014). The region has emerged as the growth engine of the world economy, accounting for almost 40%of the world’s output and two-thirds of global growth in 2014 (International Monetary Fund, 2015). These figures speak of the significance of the Asia Pacific region in what has become a globalized world. However, although the incidences of extreme poverty have fallen, poverty is a persistent issue in the Asia Pacific region plagued by rising inequality (UNESCAP, 2014). When considering homeless numbers, it is impossible to determine an overall figure for the Asia Pacific region given the differences in definitions of homelessness and the absence of reliable data from some countries. However, in the context of a region with over 4 billion people, the scale and prevalence of homelessness in some countries is simply unimaginable.

The term ‘Asia Pacific’ varies in use. Very broad applications such as in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum can include Russia, the US, Canada, Chile, Mexico, and Peru. The more typical use of the term which includes East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania was employed in this book. Faced with a list of a couple of dozen countries, we aimed to focus on the top countries in the region in terms of gross domestic product, which included China, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and New Zealand, as well as Vietnam given the size of their population and economy. However, we encountered great difficulty in seeking appropriate contributors for all these countries in the face of very limited scholarship on homelessness. This may partly be because in some of these countries, such as in Vietnam and Singapore, being homeless is considered illegal. The very notion of state support for homelessness can be unfathomable in countries where such a condition is not supposed to exist or, more so, where it is regarded as unlawful. The final contributions to this book from Japan, China, India, Sri Lanka, Korea, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Australia, present original research by well-respected authors and provide detailed accounts of the faces of homelessness in these respective countries.

Critical conceptualization of homelessness

As the editors of this book, we take a position that how we define and conceptualize social issues shapes how we respond to them. That is, the positions we take on an issue, to a significant extent, evinces how we represent and conceptualize them. However, responses to homelessness can be contested, with disputed and clashing policy directions. Building on previous work by Zufferey (2017) on intersectionality, social work, and homelessness, we argue that experiences of homelessness exist within intersecting unequal power relations. Social inequalities are perpetuated by the discourses and politics of different welfare states, which have material effects on people in different social positions (Bacchi, 2009). We make mention of homelessness as a ‘social issue’ (rather than as a ‘problem’) because as evident in the chapters in this book, constructions of homelessness differ across countries. Whilst homelessness can be seen by some countries as a ‘social problem’, it can be conceptualized by others as anything but a problem. The different perspectives in the chapters of this book are important contributions to the study of the faces of homelessness in the region.

The diversity of circumstances and contexts that are defined as homelessness varies considerably across countries (Tipple & Speak, 2009), as does the way homeless populations are counted. The experiences of homelessness in different countries in the Asia Pacific intersect with poverty, urban/rural contexts, class/caste divisions, disabilities, age, gender, and others social categories. Multiple social conditions constitute the lived experiences of homelessness differently, across all countries. The research and perspectives of the contributing authors in this book are potentially politically influential. The advocacy of researchers sits alongside the influences of the media and other policy discourses, to contribute to critically examining the responses of the state and civil society. However, state responses often fail to holistically respond to the most disadvantaged in society. This book promotes the human rights and social justice for people affected by homelessness, which is consistent with structural and intersectional theorizing about homelessness (see Zufferey, 2017), as well as the ethics of social work. Our interest in homelessness is informed by a critical conception of our discipline, which is social work. As you will note, not all the chapter authors are from the discipline, although, most of the contributors are social workers. We hoped to draw together collaborative accounts of state responses and lived experiences of homelessness from different academics who have studied the issue. Then, we have summarized these in the concluding chapter, from our own critical social work perspective.

Social work accounts of homelessness

The International Federation of Social Workers (2014) defines social work as ‘a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people’. How this definition is carried out in practice varies significantly between and within countries.

The individual-structural debate in social work has been raging for over a hundred years (Haynes, 1998; Mullaly, 2007). These contested perspectives also influence conceptualizations of homelessness and social work in countries across the Asia Pacific region. On one side of the debate is a highly individualist conception of social issues such as homelessness, drawing attention to individual people’s values, attitudes, behaviours, ways of thinking, lifestyles, and life choices. This perspective locates ‘problems’ within individuals and their failure to lead ‘decent’ lives, which include the inability to obtain or sustain gainful employment, the lack of capacity to look after themselves and/or those dependent on them for care. These people then become the subjects of so-called ‘helping interventions’ that are aimed at adjusting their cognitive and social behaviours, so that they can act appropriately, manage social expectations and cope with societal demands. The intervention goals are couched in terms of enabling them to help themselves, achieve self-reliance and become active, contributing members of society. The notion of self-reliance is a common welfare discourse across the world. It has been criticized in western literature for promoting individualist discourses that position responsibility for change within the individual, despite local and global contexts with considerable structural, social, economic, political, and geographical inequalities (Hebert & Mincyte, 2014).

A critical, structural conception of social issues such as homelessness sees them at the scale of human societies. Thus, understandings of homelessness are envisaged through the ways human societies are organized and structured, and how power and resources are distributed in relationships between various groupings in society. A critical conception of social work recognizes that many of the issues manifested in the lives of people arise from intersecting structural inequalities and disadvantages. Western, critical approaches to homelessness highlight structural and individual causes, solutions, and pathways for entering and exiting homelessness (Hutson & Clapham, 1999; Pleace, 2000; Clapham, 2005; Johnson, Gronda & Coutts, 2008; Pleace & Quilgars, 2003; Chamberlain, Johnson, & Robinson, 2014). British social policy author Pleace (2000) argues that there is a ‘new orthodoxy’ in homelessness literature that combines structural/individual explanations of homelessness. That is, structural factors, such as economic inequalities, poverty, unemployment, and lack of affordable housing, can create the conditions within which homelessness occurs. However, some individuals are more vulnerable to the effects of these adverse social and economic conditions than others, which explains why more people with ‘high support needs’ experience homelessness (Pleace, 2000). We take the position that homelessness is a structural issue, but with individual effects. State policies are economically driven but have lived effects, as vividly outlined in the experiences of homelessness presented in this book.

A critical and intersectional social work approach draws attention towards social exclusion, discrimination, and disadvantages that intersect with class, gender, race, ability, sexual orientation, religion, and other social positions (Zufferey, 2017). It acknowledges that some social systems such as central state laws, administrative regulations, and welfare policies can generate poverty, homelessness, and destitution, which are experienced by some members of society more than others. This approach targets the state, society and societal structures, with the aims to eliminate structural inequality and social disadvantage. In this book, we highlight the need for social change drawing on principles of social justice, human rights, and collective responsibility that are central to social work (Ife, 2012; Mullaly, 2007).

While we see homelessness as structurally rooted, we recognize that this perspective does not always reflect dominant ideologies and ways of thinking. The sketches of the faces of homelessness in this book pay attention to the definitions and perceptions informing conceptualizations of the issue in different state responses. We are interested in discerning the ideological frameworks underpinning state policy and action, in relation to lived effects and experiences of homelessness. Consistent with critical sociologists such as Marx and Weber, we recognize that the state is not neutral; it has political and economic power and authority. The responses of the state are integral to defining and shaping the social issues. Thus, structural and social inequalities are reflected in and shape state policies and practice responses to homelessness.

About the chapters

The chapters of this edited book are collaborative efforts between different authors, in different countries and from different disciplinary backgrounds. Each chapter examines homelessness in one country and analyzes state responses to the issue, including policy definitions, welfare provision, legislation, services, practices, and lived experiences of homelessness. This book contributes knowledge in the field of homelessness by offering insights into the different forms of homelessness, as well as conceptions of homelessness in state policies and responses across the Asia Pacific region. Each chapter aims to:

1. Outline definitions of homelessness in selected countries in the Asia Pacific;
2. Describe the lived experiences of homelessness in this diverse range of countries;
3. Examine selected government and nongovernment responses to homelessness, highlighting mainstream and innovative policies, programs, and practices;
4. Critically analyze state responses to homelessness based on understandings of the issue that recognize the role of unequal social relations associated with class, gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, ability, or other social categories.

Not all of these aims are covered in equal depth in each of the chapters. Some aspects are stronger than others in different chapters, depending on the interests and perspectives of the authors. As well, the representations of homelessness reflect current discourses in each country and are necessarily incomplete. An all-encompassing account of the lived realities of homelessness is simply impossible, given the myriad of lives it touches, even within countries and cities.

In Chapter 2 on homelessness in Japan, geographers Johannes Kiener and Toshio Mizuuchi highlight residual welfare policy and connections between changes to the ‘day labor’ market and homelessness. Covering different responses in three Japanese cities – Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka – they trace state responses and social issues contributing to homelessness over time starting from the World War II. These issues include increasing unemployment and limited welfare assistance in the context of economic, industrial, and social changes. They note that disability, illness, and old age for people living ‘single male lifestyles’ can often lead to chronic homelessness. They also emphasize the changing homelessness demographics in Japan, including people who are educated, married, and previously housed. They argue that the expansion of the scope of welfare benefits has had a profound impact on decreasing visible homelessness in Japan.

The third chapter by social workers Della Qiu and Carole Zufferey, examines homelessness in China and the work of so-called government Aid Stations. The chapter covers the lived experiences of older people, young people, people with disabilities, families, women and children, and the rural to urban population drifters, the so-called ‘floating population’. The term ‘homelessness’ is not often used in China and has not attracted much political attention. Government responses involve the rescuing and criminalization of homelessness, in the context of responses to ‘vagrants and beggars’ without legal documentation, fixed dwellings, and stable incomes. There has been increasing involvement of non-governmental organizations but they tend to refer people to government services. The Aid Stations have experienced a rapid rise in demand but can only provide temporary assistance, with the goal of sending people back home. Whilst rescue models of state intervention tend to focus on individual and personal issues, social work advocacy has been slowly influencing the changing responses to homelessness in China.

Chapter 4, the chapter on India written by social workers Kalpana Goel and Richa Chowdhary, focuses on urban homelessness in Delhi. It vividly describes lived experiences of the destitute street homeless and discusses definitions, causations, meanings, and social values, arguing for citizenship rights to housing support a...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of tables
• List of figures
• Acknowledgments
• List of contributors
• 1 The many faces of homelessness: a critical introduction
• 2 Homelessness and homeless policies in the context of the residual Japanese welfare state
• 3 Homelessness in China
• 4 Living homeless in urban India: state and societal responses
• 5 Children’s homelessness in Sri Lanka
• 6 Homelessness in Korea: lived experience and policy issues
• 7 Homelessness in Hong Kong: the evolution of official homeless assistance and the context of housing
• 8 A unique sustainable livelihoods strategy: how resilient homeless families survive on the streets of Metro Manila, Philippines
• 9 Homelessness in Australia
• 10 A portrait of homelessness in the Asia Pacific
• Index