Social work's role in both direct practice and advocacy to sustain tenancies and prevent homelessness

Abstract

Social work is uniquely positioned to assist people to avoid evictions and to sustain at-risk tenancies through both direct practice and advocacy. The risk of housing loss and homelessness is an individual experience that social workers commonly seek to address through direct practice. Direct practice alone is insufficient. Social workers understand that achieving just and inclusive housing outcomes requires advocacy to underpin changes to housing and other systems. The dual practice and advocacy roles are definitive elements of social work. Drawing on an Australian qualitative study with semistructured interviews with practitioners (n = 13) and people at risk of eviction and entering homelessness (n = 29), this article contributes to social work knowledge by demonstrating not only how social work progresses individual and advocacy work in tandem but also how the knowledge generated through individual work lays the basis and legitimacy to engage in advocacy.