Challenging the disabling nature of mental illness: the evaluation results of the Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI)
Kristy Muir, Karen Fisher, David Abello, and Ann Dadich
Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW
Contact Email:   k.muirunsw.edu.au

People with mental illness can be profoundly disabled by their condition and are at risk of social exclusion. Previous research has found that transitional models of supported accommodation for people with mental illness can hinder, rather than facilitate, recovery and community integration. The Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI) Stage One aims to support people with high levels of psychiatric disability to stabilise their tenancy and improve their mental health, living skills and participation within the community. This social investment has had a profound effect on the lives of people involved in the program, their families and the communities they live in. Using the longitudinal, mixed-method evaluation of the HASI program conducted by the Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW, this paper examines the challenges participants faced prior to joining HASI, the changes they have experienced since participating in the program and the intergovernmental and organisational partnerships that have made the model a success. The paper captures the important interactions between a major life course event (mental illness), social investment, program implementation, and individual and community outcomes. Finally, it concludes with policy implications for future programs supporting people with mental illness.

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