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Barriers to homeless people accessing legal assistance

Barriers identified in the current study that can prevent homeless people from gaining access to legal assistance include:

• limited personal resources and lack of stable accommodation
• isolation from services or not knowing where to go
• low levels of literacy and education, disability, poor health and alcohol and other drug addiction
• having other essential priorities and feeling overwhelmed by the many issues they face
• feeling intimidated by the legal system, which they do not believe will work in their interests
• lack of awareness of their legal rights.

Some of these barriers arise directly from the state of homelessness (e.g. not having a stable address, having other immediate priorities) while others may be the manifestation of other issues common in the homeless population (e.g. lack of personal resources, low literacy levels). Over-representation of disadvantaged sub-groups and multiple membership of marginalised groups within the homeless population also contribute to the barriers faced by this population.

These many difficulties compound to keep homeless people from legal assistance. Thus, on a day-to-day basis, a homeless person may be too busy looking for accommodation, meeting Centrelink requirements, or caring for family to address a legal issue. That person’s capacity to seek assistance may also be compromised by mental health or alcohol and other drug issues. Coupled with limited resources, a sense of hopelessness, a lack of knowledge of legal options and a feeling that the law would never work in their interests, legal issues are likely to remain unaddressed. Services report that when homeless people finally do contact a legal service (if at all), the issue has usually already reached crisis point: the eviction is imminent; their benefits have been cut off; the court case is tomorrow. In some cases, it may be too late to resolve the issue (e.g. the limitation or appeal period may have expired) or the issue has become more complex and difficult to address. It has therefore been argued in this report that the multiple, urgent and interrelated legal and other problems homeless people have, together with the compounding barriers they face in addressing these issues, have significant implications for the nature and type of legal service delivery which is appropriate for homeless people in this state.