NO WHERE TO GO: AN ANALYSIS OF THE SUPPORTED ACCOMMODATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

The Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) provides services for homeless people. After demonstrating that the Program is intended to assist people to move on to independent living, the following paper examines the implications of remaining in SAAP services for longer than would otherwise be necessary because there is no where else to go. In particular, the broader social functions of SAAP are examined in the light of the work of Michel Foucault. It is suggested that SAAP serves a specific social function in exerting socially approved power over SAAP users who are forced to remain in SAAP services for longer than would otherwise be required if affordable and appropriate accommodation were available.