Housing and Support Program (HASP): Final Evaluation Report

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Section 8 Discussion
8.3 The opportunities available through the program for clients to maximise their
recovery and participate in community life — the focus here will be on social,
recreational, educational and vocational activities in the community
During interviews with clients we heard several
accounts of how HASP had helped them to move from
a life fi lled with despair and isolation to one of hope.
All of the clients interviewed felt that the housing and
support provided through HASP were essential in
promoting recovery. While eight of the 80 HASP clients
(10%) were in paid employment, the hours worked
ranged from four to 60 per week, with a mean of
18.06 hours worked per week. However, it should
be noted that over 40% of clients indicated that they
would like to have paid employment as their main
activity. Thus, there is some scope to engage with
these clients and link them into training or other
activities, such as volunteer work, to improve their
chances of securing paid employment in the future.
While 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, 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’. It is clear that many of the clients who
claimed to have friends, included family members as
friends. Indeed, over one-third of the clients outlined
that they felt lonely and bored in the month prior to
data collection.
Access to suffi cient money and control over 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 to spend. 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. However, 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
described how he was able to buy a racing bicycle
(something he had wanted to do for a number of years,
but never had enough money to do so).
Final Evaluation Report
Nonetheless, clients should be encouraged (where
possible) to manage their own fi nances. This may
require further education and close monitoring of
spending behaviour until clients gain skills in money
management.
It is clear from the interviews with clients that access
to transport is an import factor in their lives. While
public transport is frequently available, many clients
feel anxious or uncomfortable about using public
transport. In recognition of this, some support
agencies provide private transport for their HASP
clients. Indeed, 66% of the clients indicated that their
support agency/support workers provided transport.
However, the payment of support agencies/workers
for this service does raise some concerns. In some
situations, it was noted that the client pays the support
worker directly for the transport provided. In others,
support workers transport clients free of charge and
claim the cost in their annual tax return as a workrelated
deduction. Finally, some agencies take funding
from the client’s HASP package to fund transport
costs. It is clear that there needs to be some clarity
provided around the provision of transport and how
the costs for transport are to be reimbursed by clients.