The Transinstitutionalisation of People Living in Licensed Boarding Houses in Sydney

Abstract

Deinstitutionalisation, one of the most significant social policies of the last century, was introduced into Australia from the 1960s, and involved the closure or downsizing of large institutions and the integration of people with disability and mental illness into the community. One of the community-based accommodation options for people leaving institutions was boarding houses. This paper presents the findings of a study into the use of licensed boarding houses for people with intellectual disability and people with mental illness in Sydney, Australia. The study aimed to explore how boarding houses operate as an accommodation option within the policy of deinstitutionalisation and the extent to which this accommodation type upholds human rights principles and contributes to residents' quality of life. Forty interviews were conducted with a range of participants including current and former residents, proprietors of licensed boarding houses, and staff of community organisations and government agencies about licensed boarding houses and the quality of life of residents. The study found that licensed boarding houses are a form of transinstitutionalisation and do not serve to enact the human rights principles articulated in current policy and legislation.

精神病治疗的非机构化作为上个世纪的最重要的一项社会政策，于上个世纪六十年代被引入澳大利亚。这导致了大型治疗机构的关门或缩水，残障和精神疾病人被纳入社区生活。社区为离开医院的病人提供的一种选择设施为宿舍。本文对悉尼注册的智障人宿舍的使用情况做了研究。作者意在探讨这类设施在多大程度上维护了人权原则，并对居住者的生活质量有多大的贡献。作者进行了四十次访谈，受访者包括宿舍的正在和曾经居住者、注册宿舍的业主、社区组织工作人员、负责宿舍注册和居住者生活质量的政府机构就，不一而足。本研究的发现是，宿舍实为一种跨机构化的形式，并未落实现行政策及法规明言的人权原则。

Keywords:

• Deinstitutionalisation
• Boarding House
• Transinstitutionalisation
• Disability
• Mental Illness