Homelessness and housing insecurity among youth in Australia: Sequence analysis of housing careers

Abstract

Despite significant policy developments addressing youth housing insecurity in Australia, youth remain subject to multiple housing arrangements that can lead to homelessness more than any other cohort. We focus on the housing sequences of youths, and we seek information in the order and duration of accommodation types used. We employ Journeys Home – a unique longitudinal dataset specifically designed to examine issues relating to homelessness or housing instability in Australia. We combine accommodation calendars with data-driven sequence analysis techniques that holistically consider the information in the accommodation sequence. Specifically, we identify a set of distinct accommodation typologies and find that those who experience the greatest housing insecurity are comparatively less likely to be educated or employed and more likely to have dependent children who are not living with them. Importantly, we find that not all housing insecurity is necessarily associated with primary homelessness.