There's nowhere to go

Counting the Costs of Extreme Weather to the Homeless Community

Dados Bibliográficos

ID3898697
AutoresDanielle Every (Senior Lecturer, Appleton Institute CQUniversity Australia, autor correspondente), James F Richardson (0009-0005-8396-9638, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood), John Richardson (0000-0003-1944-9820, National Resilience Adviser, Emergency Services Australian Red Cross Australia), John M Richardson (0000-0002-7627-4222, National Resilience Adviser, Emergency Services Australian Red Cross Australia), Elizabeth Osborn (0000-0002-5053-8795, Research Assistant, Appleton Institute CQUniversity Australia)
Ano2019
Volume43
Fascículo4
Páginas799-817
Data de publicação2019-10-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoDisasters (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0361-3666 • E-ISSN: 1467-7717
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/disa.12400
PMID31418904
OpenAlexW2969160705
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas17
Referências citadas24

People experiencing homelessness are vulnerable to extreme weather in unique ways. The entrenched inequalities that underpin disaster vulnerability are compounded by extreme isolation and the stress of transient living on mental and physical health. However, the impacts of extreme weather on the homeless in Australia are largely undocumented and rarely incorporated in emergency planning. Interviews with and surveys of emergency and homeless services and service users revealed that the primary ramifications of losing shelter and worsening mental health deepen the cycle of homelessness and trauma. Consequently, homeless shelter losses, such as tents, should be included in pre- and post-event impact statistics and subsequent recovery support. Extreme weather response plans should include early triggers and strategies for 'non-severe' weather events, as the homeless community is affected earlier and by a wider range of meteorological conditions. Moreover, this study also explores the benefits of a trauma-informed response to extreme weather when working with the homeless

Climate change · Computer security · Environmental health · Extreme weather · Mental health · Poison control · Psychiatry · Suicide prevention · Vulnerability (computing · Computer Science · Disaster Management and Resilience · Disaster Response and Management · Homelessness and Social Issues · Medicine · Psychology