Safety of People in Supported Housing 2012: Employees

The survey charted views on the safety, particularly housing safety and safety in the neighbourhood, of people living in supported housing. The respondents were employees working in supported housing services for disabled people, people in psychiatric rehabilitation, and other people requiring such services. Trust was also charted as well as safety of employees and education needs relating to safety. The respondents were first asked which things caused insecurity to customers in supported housing at home and outside home, whether customers knew how to act in threatening situations, and whether customers took responsibility for their own safety. Views were surveyed on products and services that would improve home safety of customers (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). Opinions were charted on how much customers trusted the employees in the housing unit as well as on how much the customers trusted in the availability of support and guidance. The respondents' views were charted on communication at work, ability to aid and guide customers in issues related to safety and security, need for additional training, and whether their education matched their tasks at work. Experiences of violence and threats of violence from customers were examined as well as whether the respondents had notified anyone about the experiences. Finally, the respondents were asked whether their workplace provided the employees with safety guidelines and how much they trusted different authorities (e.g. social services, police, municipal decision makers). Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, and employer as well as number of years worked for the employer, size of the municipality where the workplace was located, and main cause (disability/condition) for customers' need for support.