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ACCESS West Philly
In 1993, the federal Center for Mental Health Services established
Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Supports (ACCESS)
programs throughout the country to help integrate services for people
who are homeless and have mental illnesses, substance use disorders
or both. Located in Philadelphia, ACCESS West Philly is operated by
the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania. ACCESS
West Philly ensures that people who are homeless and have mental illnesses
in West Philadelphia receive needed services. To accomplish this goal,
the program offers a variety of easily accessible services. When people
require assistance not offered by ACCESS West Philly, program staff
helps them find the services they need in the community.
The Village ISA
Operated by the Mental Health Association in Los Angeles County, Calif.,
the Village Integrated Service Agency (ISA) provides a coordinated,
comprehensive range of services to people who have schizophrenia and
other serious and persistent mental illnesses including people with
co-occurring disorders and people who are homeless.
The goal of Village ISA is to “empower adults with psychiatric disabilities
to live, learn, socialize and work in the community.” To accomplish
this goal, the Village integrates services, supports, opportunities
and encouragement in addition to skills training, job placement, assistance
in finding a home, and mental health care.
Heartland Housing
The Mental Health Association of the Heartland in Kansas
City, Kan. rehabilitated an eight-unit apartment complex in Kansas City,
MO. for people who are homeless and have mental illnesses. Purchased
in December 2000 with HUD funding awarded under Kansas City's Continuum
of Care application, the property opened in October 2001 and provides
supportive housing options for eight people.
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In addition, the MHA
recently received $625,000 from HUD to fund an 11-unit apartment complex
in Levenworth that will give preference to veterans who have a mental
illness. The MHA will also receive 46 HUD Housing Choice Vouchers to
move people out of nursing homes and into communities.
MHAT Housing Program
The Mental Health Association of Tulsa, Okla. has a variety
of housing options for people who are homeless and have mental illnesses.
The MHA’s program offers different levels of care to meet the specific
needs of tenants. Options include:
- A Safe Haven, which provides short-term, transitional and long-term
housing for people who are homeless and have mental illnesses. This
program provides supportive 24-hour staff, assertive community advocacy
and a menu of support services, which includes life skills training.
The program has a resident occupancy limit of 25 people.
- A transitional living center that provides assertive community advocacy
and a menu of support services for up to 12 residents. This is considered
a transitional living center because tenants can live there up to
two years.
- Long-term support apartments that provide permanent, independent
long-term supportive housing to people who have had difficulties living
independently in the community. Residents occupy their own apartments
and are responsible for developing plans to address the issues and
obstacles that have hindered their previous attempts to live independently.
- Long-term independent apartments for individuals who feel comfortable
living in the community. Residents may access the assertive community
advocacy program, which is available through the MHA. Although residents
live independently, support staff is nearby and available if assistance
is needed.
The MHA-Tulsa also
offers separate support services that include education advancement,
various support groups, life skills training, personal financial management,
employment training, family support groups and medication management.
The Living Room
The Mental Health Association in Dutchess County, N.Y. has implemented
The Living Room, a program that serves as a safe haven for people who
are homeless or near homelessness and have mental health needs. The
Living Room, which is open seven days a week/14 hours per day, is funded
through community reinvestment money from the closing of psychiatric
hospitals, SuperNOFA and the Ryan White Foundation.
Services of The Living
Room include the following:
- Human Services and Social Services Department
- Social Security Office
- Job bank that employs members
- Weekly visits from Veterans Affairs to link veterans with services
- Housing service that works with landlords to place members into
homes
- Transportation Services
- Emergency services
- Jail Outreach Service to establish relationships and services for
people before they are released
- Basic service needs such as clothing, food, showers, an address,
etc.
Mental Health Association of Mississippi: Homebase Program
Homebase is an evidence-based program that employs professional peer
counselors to conduct outreach in two locations along the Mississippi
Gulf Coast. Outreach counselors conduct scheduled visits to soup kitchens,
shelters, churches, and social service agencies seeking out the mentally
ill homeless population. Homeless individuals can also visit the Resource
Office located in the downtown city section nearest the majority of
the homeless population.
Program participants can access case management, crisis referral,
emergency medication assistance, as well as supportive self-help group,
including Dual Recovery Anonymous. Homebase participants can also participate
in the Mental Health Association of Mississippi's Drop-In Center which
provides psychosocial rehabilitative services, work stipend incentives,
career development, and educational opportunities.
Homebase is funded through several entities including the Mississippi
Department of Mental Health (Projects for Assistance in Transition
from Homelessness block grant) and the City of Biloxi. For more information,
contact the MHA of Mississippi at outreachprovider@yahoo.com
MHA-Montgomery County Homeless Outreach
The Mental Health Association in Montgomery County, Md. has an Adult
Mental Health Services Department that handles a range of services that
deal with homelessness and housing issues such as:
- Providing a case manager in the local Shelter + Care program to
reduce the caseloads of mental health professionals and provide better
service to the clients.
- Providing mental health assessments at the men’s homeless shelter
to screen for signs of mental illness. Staff links the men with appropriate
mental health services in the community as needed.
- Working to integrate services for people who are homeless and have
mental illnesses or co-occurring disorders.
- Hiring a bi-lingual counselor to work with non-English speaking
people who need mental health services.
- Participating in a 35-member coalition of homeless providers that
meets monthly to discuss how to improve services for people who are
experiencing homeless in the community.
The Mental Health
Association in Montgomery County is working to increase housing options
for people who have mental illnesses or co-occurring disorders including
people who are homeless.
This MHA visited
Vinfen in Boston, Mass., which has been identified as a state-of-the-art
service by NMHA’s Partners in Community Access to Recovery
and Empowerment (CARE) program. For more information
about Vinfen, visit www.vinfen.com
MHA-Morris County Homeless Outreach
The Mental Health Association in Morris County, N.J.,
receives Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness
(PATH) and Safe Haven funding for numerous outreach activities for people
who are homeless such as:
- Providing food and clothing to people who are homeless.
- Working with two soup kitchens, where they provide an outreach worker
and caseworker to provide services to people in the shelter.
- Through a subcontract with an area shelter, working with people
in the shelter to provide services, place them in homes and do follow-up.
Sixty percent of the people with whom they work are placed in homes
within six to eight months of when they start to work with them.
- Through reinvestment funding, providing integrated services to people
who are homeless and have mental illnesses or co-occurring disorders.
Mentoring Program for Children Who Are Homeless
The Mental Health Association in Arizona has implemented
a mentoring program for children who are homeless. It pairs children
who are homeless between the ages of five and 15 with mentors who are
at least 18 years of age. The mentees are referred by caseworkers in
the homeless shelters; however, children can become active in the program
only with their parent’s permission. The MHA asks volunteers in the
community to serve as mentors recruiting them through media placements,
church presentations, rotary meetings and other community events. Mentors
go through an interview process, a three-hour training, and agree to
meet with their mentee at least one time a week for a year.
MHA-ND Housing
The City of Fargo, N.D., with the assistance of the Mental Health
Association in North Dakota, recently received $500,000 from HUD
for a long-term supported housing program. The housing facility will
be built in two years and will provide rooms to 12 people with psychiatric
disabilities or co-occurring disorders who are homeless. Trained staff
will be available onsite 24 hours a day/seven days a week. The facility
will implement some harm reduction policies; people will not be evicted
for using illegal substances if they are otherwise following the terms
of their housing agreement.
Seeds of Hope Day Shelter and Housing
The Mental Health Association in Tippecanoe County, IN runs the Seeds
of Hope Day Shelter for people who are experiencing homelessness. The
shelter has been open for sixteen years and currently serves an estimated
65 people a day, 13 hours a day, 365 days a year. In addition to meals
and a safe place to rest, the shelter provides emergency services and
case management.
MHA-Tippecanoe County also provides supportive housing for adults experiencing
mental illness. Currently, housing is available for twelve individuals;
however, the MHA plans to expand the program to fourteen individuals.
Many of the people that live in these apartments have been referred
to the housing program from the shelter. For more information, visit
mentalhealth.dcwi.com.
For more information, contact:
National Mental Health Association
2000 N. Beauregard Street, 6th Floor
Alexandria, VA 22311
Phone 800-969-NMHA (6642)
TTY 800-433-5959
Fax 703-684-5968
Email: infoctr@nmha.org
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