Crowded Out: A Case Study of Homelessness, Crowding and the Tennant Creek Women’s Refuge Paul Memmott, Daphne Nash, Bernard Baffour, Kelly Greenop, The University of Queensland Homelessness in the Barkly Region Over recent decades Indigenous crowding and homelessness has been increasing in some parts of Australia, including Tennant Creek, the regional centre for the Barkly Shire in the Northern Territory (Biddle 2011; Memmott et al 2012). The central aim of our study was to investigate the connection between crowding and homelessness through families at risk, particularly the women and children who accessed the services of the Tennant Creek Women’s Refuge. Preliminary investigations at the Refuge revealed that most women were victims of Family Violence/Domestic Violence (FV/DV). While acknowledging the complexity surrounding FV/DV, it is known that housing stress or crowding can be a contributing factor. As part of our study we conducted a survey of Aboriginal households to determine the level of crowding. Our survey revealed that household crowding was caused by both short-term and long-term visits from extended family (mobile kin) not evidenced in the Census data for Tennant Creek. It is these hidden characteristics of the broad social problems relating to crowding and homelessness that we sought to understand more fully. The Tennant Creek Women’s Refuge The Tennant Creek Women’s Refuge provides services to Aboriginal women from communities throughout the expansive Barkly region which has an Aboriginal population of 4718 within a total population of 6823 (ABS 2012a). Together, the Refuge management and staff (about ten women, both local Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal) provide assistance in crisis accommodation, counselling, outreach support for women and their families and children, and domestic violence education. Women who are victims of FV/DV are the main clients however their needs are diverse and range from transport assistance to travel to home communities to specialised counselling and/or referral for women in crisis. The Refuge has eight beds and so can accommodate eight women and their children for a period of three months. While the Refuge is not full every night there are peak periods, for example, during the hottest months and when visitors come to Tennant Creek for social reasons, such as football. At these times, demand for beds often exceeds supply. There is always space available for urgent DV victims, however, and sometimes residents are required to leave to make room for urgent cases. Initially our study focused on the number of women who resided each night at the Refuge and their reasons for admission, including FV/DV and other difficult circumstances. According to the Refuge manager, it is most significant that very few clients have homes and furthermore, they have been made homeless by FD/DV. Given the definitions of homelessness, the real homeless status of these women may not have been reflected in the Census statistics (ABS 2012c). Looking beyond the immediate reasons for admission led us to investigate the extent to which crowding may have been a significant factor in their escalating risk. Crowding Survey The extent of Aboriginal crowding was investigated through a sample survey of 80 households. The survey findings and statistical analyses indicated that for the 80 households sampled, the average number of people per household was 9.91 and the average number of people per bedroom per household was 3.14. The most critical finding of our analysis is that the mean size of Indigenous households in Tennant Creek was 9.91 at the time of the survey in early November (not a peak period of visitation), whereas the 16