Housing and Support Program (HASP): Final Evaluation Report

5.13 Section summary
During our interviews with clients (and staff) we heard
accounts of the way that HASP had helped clients to
move from a life fi lled with despair and isolation to
one of hope. All of the individuals (staff and clients)
felt that the housing and support provided through
HASP were essential in promoting recovery for clients.
The clients were asked to consider a number of life
domains. They were most satisfi ed by the services
provided by their support agency (mean score = 2.05)
and least satisfi ed by the way they spent their time
(mean score = 1.37). We further explored the way in
which clients spent their time. While eight of the
80 HASP clients (10.0%) were in paid employment,
the hours worked ranged from four to 60 per week
with a mean of 18.06 hours worked per week. One
client had two part-time jobs which required him
to work 60 hours per week. Most worked as factory
hands, in construction or on paper delivery jobs.
A large proportion of clients (43.4%) indicated that
they would like paid employment as their main activity
in the future. This suggests that there is considerable
scope for clients to focus on employment. Another
21% outlined that they would like to have craft/
hobbies as their main activity.
While 86% of the HASP clients claimed to have
between one to fi ve friends, 39% of the sample
outlined that they would be able to fi nd someone
to ‘put them up’ if they needed somewhere to stay for
a few days. In addition, 44% felt that they would have
trouble fi nding someone to drive them to hospital if
they were ill. Indeed, over one-fi fth of clients indicated
that they did not have ‘one person they could trust’.
Access to suffi cient fi nance and control over that
money are important factors in being able to maintain
life in the community. Overall, HASP clients were
satisfi ed with the amount of money they had.
Moreover, they expressed high levels of satisfaction
with the amount of control they had over their money.
This was somewhat surprising given that 51 of the
80 clients in the study (63%) had their fi nances
managed by the Public Trustee. Indeed, having their
fi nances managed by the Public Trustee enabled some
clients to purchase goods and services that they could
never previously afford. By way of example, one client
was able to save enough money to have a holiday in
Cairns, while another outlined how he was able to
buy a racing bicycle. Nonetheless, three-quarters
of clients indicated that the lack of money prevented
them from doing things they wanted to do either
‘frequently’/‘sometimes’.
Clients provided a range of goals. These were
categorised into four themes — staying healthy,
fi nding a job, travel and connecting with family.
Eighty-two percent indicated that involvement
in HASP had helped them (or was currently helping
them) to achieve their goals.
Housing and Support Program (HASP)
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