Client Experiences of Emergency Assistance Services

More people are requiring emergency assistance on a regular basis, placing a significant burden on service providers. However, there is little literature on client perceptions of emergency assistance, and whether their needs are being met. This study aimed to address this gap by interviewing people...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ian Goodwin-Smith, Tanya Mackay
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Griffith University 2015-12-01
Series:Journal of Social Inclusion
Online Access:https://josi.journals.griffith.edu.au/index.php/inclusion/article/view/623
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author Ian Goodwin-Smith
Tanya Mackay
author_facet Ian Goodwin-Smith
Tanya Mackay
author_sort Ian Goodwin-Smith
collection DOAJ
description More people are requiring emergency assistance on a regular basis, placing a significant burden on service providers. However, there is little literature on client perceptions of emergency assistance, and whether their needs are being met. This study aimed to address this gap by interviewing people who had recently sought emergency assistance in South Australia. Sixteen people (nine women) aged between 27 and 55 participated in this study. Participants reported that they were seeking assistance (mainly food) due to bills, particularly relating to electricity, but also telephone, gas and car registration. Most people had their needs met to some extent, but many said that they had received insufficient or inappropriate food. Recommendations were provided around establishing compulsory service standards and partnerships, and reviewing the types of assistance provided (e.g. providing vouchers and healthy food parcels). Keywords: emergency assistance, emergency relief, social services, wrap around services, social inclusion
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spelling doaj.art-d74f449ed90e410eb5b66545f98dd6602022-12-21T22:37:42ZengGriffith UniversityJournal of Social Inclusion1836-88082015-12-01625163574Client Experiences of Emergency Assistance ServicesIan Goodwin-Smith0Tanya Mackay1Flinders UniversityFlinders UniversityMore people are requiring emergency assistance on a regular basis, placing a significant burden on service providers. However, there is little literature on client perceptions of emergency assistance, and whether their needs are being met. This study aimed to address this gap by interviewing people who had recently sought emergency assistance in South Australia. Sixteen people (nine women) aged between 27 and 55 participated in this study. Participants reported that they were seeking assistance (mainly food) due to bills, particularly relating to electricity, but also telephone, gas and car registration. Most people had their needs met to some extent, but many said that they had received insufficient or inappropriate food. Recommendations were provided around establishing compulsory service standards and partnerships, and reviewing the types of assistance provided (e.g. providing vouchers and healthy food parcels). Keywords: emergency assistance, emergency relief, social services, wrap around services, social inclusionhttps://josi.journals.griffith.edu.au/index.php/inclusion/article/view/623
spellingShingle Ian Goodwin-Smith
Tanya Mackay
Client Experiences of Emergency Assistance Services
Journal of Social Inclusion
title Client Experiences of Emergency Assistance Services
title_full Client Experiences of Emergency Assistance Services
title_fullStr Client Experiences of Emergency Assistance Services
title_full_unstemmed Client Experiences of Emergency Assistance Services
title_short Client Experiences of Emergency Assistance Services
title_sort client experiences of emergency assistance services
url https://josi.journals.griffith.edu.au/index.php/inclusion/article/view/623
work_keys_str_mv AT iangoodwinsmith clientexperiencesofemergencyassistanceservices
AT tanyamackay clientexperiencesofemergencyassistanceservices