Gridley, Heather and Barth, Mathew (2008) Families living in poverty in Broadmeadows: Challenges, survival strategies and support services. The Australian Community Psychologist, 20 (1). pp. 36-46. ISSN 1320-7741

Abstract

The aim of this research was to provide a detailed description of the issues and experiences of families living in poverty in the Broadmeadows area of Melbourne. The project evolved from consultation with Broadmeadows Uniting Care (BUC) in which they expressed interest in gaining more information about the lives of clients, in particular families who used the agency’s emergency relief (ER) service regularly. A qualitative approach was undertaken in order to gain in-depth and contextually rich data from participants. It was established from the agency’s database that a large number of single parent families used the service and thus, single parents were interviewed for the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight single-parent clients who had used the ER service three or more times during 2005. Data analysis identified a number of issues and challenges faced by single parent families living in poverty: these were categorised into the main themes of: financial support, emotional support, social support, survival strategies and effects on children.

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