What Makes a House a Home? An Evaluation of a Supported Housing Project for Individuals with Long-Term Psychiatric Backgrounds

Abstract

Supported housing (as distinct from supportive housing) emphasizes the values of consumer choice; independence; participation; permanence; normalcy; and flexible, ongoing supports. As a model, it has only recently become popular in the literature and therefore little is known of its effectiveness in serving people with long-term psychiatric backgrounds. In 1989, Homeward Projects, a community mental health agency located in Metropolitan Toronto, established a supported housing project. Homeward included an evaluative component in its program from the outset. In order to give equal weight to the tenants' opinions, both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were employed. In the quantitative component, residential milieu, social support, and service delivery were examined. The qualitative component involved an ethnographic study which allowed the tenants to voice their experiences of living in such a setting. Results provided a rich understanding of the model. Overall, the tenants eventually came to describe their house as a home.

Involving Clients in Programme Evaluation and Research: A New Methodology for Occupational Therapy

“…Many authors, both professionals and consumers, support the view that mental health professionals and clients differ in their perceptions about: the relevance of treatment services; client priorities; client problem areas; the value of treatment provided; and the desired treatment outcome (Boydell & Everett, 1992;Capponi, 1990;Elbeck & Fecteau, 1990;Estroff, 1991;Everett & Nelson, 1992;Kalman, 1983;Larsen et al, 1979;Law et al, 1990;Luft, Smith & Kace, 1978;Lynch & Knizich, 1986;Nelson & Niederberger, 1990;Ridgway, 1988;Tanzman, undated;Prager & Tanaka, 1980). Many authors, both professionals and consumers, support the view that mental health professionals and clients differ in their perceptions about: the relevance of treatment services; client priorities; client problem areas; the value of treatment provided; and the desired treatment outcome (Boydell & Everett, 1992;Capponi, 1990;Elbeck & Fecteau, 1990;Estroff, 1991;Everett & Nelson, 1992;Kalman, 1983;Larsen et al, 1979;Law et al, 1990;Luft, Smith & Kace, 1978;Lynch & Knizich, 1986;Nelson & Niederberger, 1990;Ridgway, 1988;Tanzman, undated;Prager & Tanaka, 1980).…”

“…In addition, client views are often considered external to the process of health care delivery. To ensure relevance and ongoing effectiveness of services several authors advocate for client involvement in the entire process of survey development and administration (Boydell & Everett, 1992;Elbeck & Fecteau, 1990;Gordon et al, 1979;Nelson & Niederberger, 1990;Tanzman, undated). Nelson and Niederberger (1990) suggest that without client consultation or involvement in the design of satisfaction surveys, these instruments may not provide a true representation of client satisfaction.…”

What Works? Toward a New Classification System for Mental Health Supported Accommodation Services: The Simple Taxonomy for Supported Accommodation (STAX-SA)

“…Non-English language papers were excluded to ensure faithful application of the taxonomies. The final pool consisted of 132 service descriptions across 101 papers (quantitative: 95 service descriptions across 72 papers; qualitative: 37 service descriptions across 29 papers) [19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,…”

Contrasting Social Climates of Small Peer‐Run Versus a Larger Staff‐Run Substance Abuse Recovery Setting

“…Although the mechanisms of person-environment interactions are complex (Kelly 2006), social climate is based on the concept that environments influence individuals and individuals influence their environment. Settings with social climates that are more involving, offer consistent support, and help people adapt to their unique life circumstances tend to promote better outcomes (Boydell and Everett 1992;Holahan and Moos 1982;Timko and Moos 1998). Because smaller self-run settings might require residents to perform duties normally completed by staff in larger, staff-administered settings, self-governance in smaller, peer run settings might create social climates that are more supportive, involving, and oriented towards solving residents' problems (Polcin and Henderson 2008).…”

“…Although the mechanisms of person-environment interactions are complex (Kelly, 2006), social climate is based on the concept that environments influence individuals and individuals influence their environment. Settings with social climates that are more involving, offer consistent support, and help people adapt to their unique life circumstances tend to promote better outcomes (Boydell et al, 1992; Holahan et al, 1982; Moos, 2003; Timko et al, 1998). A key question is what types of recovery communities might best promote these characteristics.…”