A report released today by the Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare (AIHW), shows that in 2004-05, over 19,000 Supported
Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) clients (or about 19%)
reported a substance use problem, and nearly 12,000 (or about 12%)
reported a mental health problem.
Ms Felicity Murdoch of the Institute's Supported Accommodation
and Crisis Services Unit said the most common reason people with
substance use problems sought help from the program was due
directly to their drug, alcohol or substance use (30%).
'The most common reasons given by those seeking support who had
a mental health problem were psychiatric illness (19%) and domestic
violence (14%),' she said.
According to the report, Homeless SAAP clients with mental
health and substance use problems 2004-05, almost all of the
services requested by clients with a mental health or substance use
problem were able to be provided directly by a SAAP agency.
'However, these clients were more likely than clients without
these problems to have service requests remaining unmet,' Ms
Murdoch said.
'This could be partly explained by the fact that these clients
are more likely to request specialist services than clients without
substance use or mental health problems and that these clients were
also more likely to be referred on for these services,' she
said.
Data on the individual support services provided to these
clients indicate that agencies are better equipped to assist
clients with substance use problems than those with mental health
problems.
According to the report, the majority of clients with a mental
health (76%) or substance use (73%) problem were born in Australia
and did not identify as being Aboriginal or Torres Strait
Islander.
Other findings indicate that clients with a mental health or
substance use problem:
- Were slightly more likely than other clients to have housing or
accommodation services provided directly by a SAAP agency.
- Were most often not in the labour force, and not actively
seeking employment.
- Relied on the disability support pension as their main source
of income.
- Were supported for longer periods than clients without these
problems.
The Supported Accommodation Assistance Program is the major
government response to homelessness and statistics on the program
are regularly reported by the AIHW.
15 March 2007
Further information: Ms Felicity Murdoch, AIHW,
tel. 02 6244 1018, mob. 0407 915 851
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. 61 2 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for the availability of Homeless SAAP clients
with mental health and substance use problems 2004-05.