Safety of People in Supported Housing 2013: Family Members

The survey charted views on the safety, particularly housing safety and safety in the neighbourhood, of people living in supported housing. The respondents were family members, relatives, spouses or other acquaintances of people in supported housing (disabled people, people in psychiatric rehabilitation, and other people requiring supported housing). The respondents were asked which things they mostly worried about in the life of the person in supported housing (e.g. managing with chores, accident, lack of aid/care), whether the person had ever been aggressive towards them or others, which things caused insecurity to the person outside his/her home, whether the person knew how to act in threatening situations, and whether the person took responsibility for his/her own safety. Views were surveyed on products and services that would improve home safety of the family member in supported housing (e.g. fire detector, safety switches in electronic devices, personal aid/care) and measures that would improve safety in the neighbourhood (e.g. improved lighting on streets and in parks, more events in the community). The respondents' trust in and opinions on the employees aiding or caring for the family member were charted. Finally, the respondents were asked whether they were able to help and advise the family member with safety and security issues, how often they saw the family member, and how much they trusted different authorities (e.g. social services, police, municipal decision makers). Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, relationship to the person in supported housing, disability/condition of the person in supported housing causing the need for support, distance from own home to the home of the person in supported housing, and number of years the family member had lived in his/her current apartment.