Measuring the impact of SAAP-funded homelessness services on client self-reliance

To what extent does receiving SAAP services facilitate positive changes in client self-reliance, and what forms does this improvement take for different groups of clients? This study provides a positive picture of the extent to which clients felt they had moved towards self-reliance after getting help from SAAP services. Nevertheless, many were still living in temporary accommodation and saw themselves as continuing to need support in the future in a wide range of areas. The factor identified as the strongest positive influence on outcomes was the length of time clients had been getting help from the service. Services may need to put long-term resources into client support to achieve good outcomes, and part of what services provide is the opportunity to recover from difficult circumstances. In this sense, continuing service receipt is not a sign of dependence, but rather a necessary part of the journey towards eventual self-reliance – at least for some clients.