Mental Health Professional
Advisory Committee approves guidelines
for
Guidelines for review of the overall, completed package of
housing developed in
The goal is to have a continuum of housing that
· Serves the spectrum of people living with serious mental illness with balance and fairness
· Leaves no important group out and
· Has adequate services, appropriate to consumer needs
The criteria would be applied to the cumulative set of housing developed, not to each individual project. They should be used to guide early development of potential projects, so that they do not become an obstacle to viable projects already prepared.
Criteria:
· The Subcommittee expressed a preference for incorporating special needs housing with market rate housing. When subsidized housing is included with market rate sale or rental units, the units should not be distinguishable from each other.
· The predominate approach should be the Housing First Model.
· The package should include a reasonable number of units for individuals with mental illness who:
o Are also active substance abusers who need housing before they can work on their substance abuse
o Are homeless individuals and families
o Families with a mentally ill parent or child
o Are living with family members, particularly when living with elderly parents
o Are at any point in the criminal justice system. The completed set should include some partnership with the corrections discharge task force in the Department of Corrections
· The completed profile should make strategic choices about housing supports for people whose unstable housing contributes to high-intensity use of mental health system resources; for example, frequent recidivists at the Crisis Center or TPH, persons with felony or assault histories,
· The completed package should balance the needs of consumers living in the community and those stuck in CEPP status in the hospital.
· The completed package should offer consumers real choice in permanent, independent housing, with
o A balance of urban and suburban housing
o A balance of shared housing as well as single units
o A mix of scattered site and consolidated housing.
· There should be no single gatekeeper or criterion for eligibility
· There should not be automatic exclusion of undocumented visitors
· Housing and support services should not be contingent on treatment compliance. Projects that attach supportive housing services to existing programs or that prioritize a particular agency’s or program’s clients must clearly identify how supportive housing services would continue to be available to consumers even if they are no longer clients of the program or agency.
The Sub-committee recommended inviting representatives from agencies that could be proposing projects to the May meeting, to discuss general acceptance of these guidelines and to plan development of an agreed upon system of sharing information on potential projects, so that the PAC and MH Board can stay aware of progress in developing projects that will satisfy these criteria. The Sub-committee identified as agencies to invite: