Former MP’s PhD examines their lived experiences

Bianca Reynaud
Public relations assistant
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

A former Member of Parliament is examining the lived experience of a homeless community in Sydney as part of her doctoral studies at Avondale.

Avondale PhD student and former MP Judith Hopwood (right) has a history of helping people who are homeless—now she is examining their lived experience.

Judith Hopwood’s research spans from academic and media research to observing people who live in caves, containers and the wilderness. She is also seeking opinions about the services provided to people who are homeless and reflections on their lived experience.

The drive to complete a PhD comes, in part, from a surprising revelation from Judith’s time as Member for Hornsby. “I realised the department of housing [it is now Housing NSW] had no demographics on the homeless people who lived in our area, and they’ve been there for decades.”

Associate Professor Phil Fitszimmons from the School of Education and Dr Don Roy are supervising Judith’s PhD at Avondale College of Higher Education. “Her research has important implications for the services that are offered to people who are homeless,” says Phil. “She’s spending a great deal of time with them.”

“They’ve accepted me,” says Judith, who has a history of helping those who are homeless—she formed the Hornsby Homelessness Task Force in 2006. “I do believe there’s an element of trust.”

For her PhD to affect government policy, Judith says the research needs to be “specific,” concentrating not only on homelessness but also on the people in the local area who might contribute to finding a solution. “The government is removed from local areas, yet we rely on evidence to create policies that are accurate and can make a difference in peoples lives.”

A similar sentiment led to Judith enrolling as a postgraduate student at Avondale. “I’m a nurse, and when I was a member of the State Legislative Assembly from 2002 to 2011, as a parliamentary secretary to the shadow minister for health, I looked at nurse education across New South Wales and felt that Avondale was the best. So, I thought, ‘I’m going to Avondale!’”