2013 onpha conference and trade show session #: 811 creating a shared community (or laying tracks...
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2 Creating a Shared Community (Laying Tracks While the Train is Moving) First Thoughts… Let’s get to know each other a bit more…TRANSCRIPT
2013
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Show
Session #: 811Creating a Shared Community(Or Laying Tracks While the Train is moving)
Rheanon Funnell
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Creating a Shared Community(Or Laying Tracks While the Train is
Moving)First Thoughts…Where We Came FromWhere We Are Now Where We Want To Be And Finally… Any Other Final thoughts or Questions…
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Creating a Shared Community(Laying Tracks While the Train is Moving)
First Thoughts…
Let’s get to know each other a bit more…
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Where We Came From2008 – 2010
Where it all started…
May – June 2008: Almost 30 Boarding Home beds lost due to closures of homes
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Where We Came From2008 – 2010 …
2008• May 29th: Housing crisis case conference held at District Social
Services Administration Board office in City Hall with all community partners to put community response plan together.
• June to August: Community agencies work together to re-house all of those individuals left homeless as a result of the boarding home closures
• September: Nipissing District Social Services Administration Board Service Manager encourages CMHA Nipissing to create and submit an Affordable Housing Proposal for a 20 unit boarding home for adults living with mental illness. Proposal Submitted
Fall 2008: the financial sector crash occurs
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Where We Came From2008 – 2010
2009• March-May: Federal Government initiates Stimulus Spending and
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing sends word that they have funding for ‘shovel ready’ projects
• June: District Social Services Administration Board gives CMHA a heads up that the proposal put in the previous September may have funding coming. Advised to start looking for property and that accepted offer has to be in place by July 30th if funding is to flow.
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Where We Came From2008 – 2010
2009• June - July: CMHA begins property search.
• July 30st deadline: CMHA notifies DSSAB that no property could be found in time for deadline.
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Where We Came From2008 – 2010
2009• July – August: Vacant motel property chosen as most
appropriate.
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Where We Came From2008 – 2010
2009
• July – August: CMHA is told that there is a gag order on funding and project details.
• August 20: Conditional offer accepted.
• September 24th: Environmental report shows an oil tank on the property that will need to be removed before sale can close.
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Where We Came From2008 – 2010
2009• October 10th: Oil tank removed at sellers’ expense. No
seepage and minimal removal issue.
• October 31th: Offer finalized. CMHA officially owns the property.
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2008 - 2010How it began
2009• November 20th: Official Announcement made.
CMHA can finally tell community partners about the project.
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The Train was speeding up and we weren’t sure where we were going to get the tracks…
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Where We Came From
2008 – 2010November 21, 2009 – March 31, 2010Turning the vision into reality and reality bites:
There is only enough money for basic renovations to make the building safe and in compliance.•No money for furniture•No money for paint or painters•No money for anything except what was needed to achieve occupancy readiness on April 1st, 2010
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Where We Came From
2008 – 2010November 21, 2009 – April 1, 2010 Necessity is the mother of invention:•8 presentations were made to local services clubs asking for donations of good used furniture•Presentation was made to entire CMHA staff group to energize and ask for commitment of time to the ‘cause’•5 proposals were submitted to various funding sources asking for staffing dollars for a “Shared Services Coordinator” •Funding request was sent to LHIN and to the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care for one-time funding for furniture and appliances
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Where We Came From2008 – 2010
November 21, 2009 – March 31, 2010•Donations of furniture begin to come in•3 IODE (International Order of the Daughters of the Empire) Chapters donate time, furnishings and $6,000•Lion’s Club Chapters donate Barbeques and dollars•Kinsmen Club donate time and dollars•Home Depot donates paint•Various church groups offer to help paint and set up furniture•Local hospital is closing and donates room furniture•Given access to an airplane hanger at the Air Base to hold all the donations
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Where We Came From2008 – 2010
November 21, 2009 – March 31, 2010•Renovations continue and more and more wants disappear under the piles of needs•Every funding request for staffing is turned down•Tenant interest applications are created and 22 individuals apply by mid March•Renovations completed by March 30th and Occupancy Certificate requested from city•March 30th 4:00 pm news from Local Health Integration Network that one time funding for furniture has been approved: $74,900 that has to be spent by end of day March 31. Money was spent.
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Where We Came From2008 – 2010
April 1 - 3, 2010
• Occupancy Certificate achieved
• 48 hours spent putting new furniture into first rooms
• First 3 tenants move in on April 3
We Are Open For Business!!
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Where We Came From
2008 – 2010April 1 - 30, 2010• April 6th visit from District Social Services
Administrative Board to take pictures for funders. Concern expressed that property does not look any different because limited funds did not allow for cosmetic improvements. New $360,000 one time funding arrives for all the improvements we hadn’t been able to afford.
• 3 newly housed tenants moved out again and
then moved from room to room until new renovations completed.
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Where We Came From2008 – 2010
April 1 - 30, 2010• New boiler installed• New windows and doors• New siding• Wooden planters and fence installed• All new flooring• All new paint in rooms and common area• New Fire Alarm System• Still no funding for staff
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So…•We had a beautiful place with $74,900 worth of furniture and appliances.•Every unit had a new bed, small table and chairs, dresser, lamps, fans, bedside tables, all bedding, towels, a microwave and a small fridge with a freezer.•We set up a contract with a caterer to supply meals for those who did not want to cook.•We created chore charts and laundry schedules to encourage responsibility and ownership by tenants.
Where We Came From2010-2012
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Where We Came From2010-2012
•All 20 rooms are filled by end of May 2010•No criteria except mental illness and needing a home•No support from funders or community partners for funding for staff•No real idea of model•Many overseers but no oversight
Without any tracks to follow, things start to go downhill very quickly…
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Where We Came From2010-2012
•From April 2010 to May 2011: Police calls to property averaged 4 to 5 calls per week.•Vulnerable tenants were preyed upon by the ‘high functioning’ tenants who were accepted for tenancy because they would be less likely to need on-site staff•Property damage and theft was rampant•Many tenants ended up in hospital because their mental health was jeopardized by the instability and chaos•On-Call Phone that was shared by CMHA staff received multiple calls per night
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Where We Came From2010-2012
•We went to our community partners and begged•We went to our funders and begged•We used staff and staffing dollars from other CMHA services just to try to keep a lid on the situation before the lack of staffing destroyed all our hard work around community acceptance
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There’s a Light at the End of the Tunnel
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Where We Came From2010-2012
May 2011 – March 2012•A staff was seconded to 416 Lakeshore from the ACT Team as a temporary solution until funding for staff could come from LHIN•With the seconded staff from ACTT, and staff provided on weekends by CMHA, staff were now on site 7 days a week•Contract made with local business that employs consumers to hire, train and pay tenants from 416 to do the maintenance of the property•Last ‘High Functioning’ tenant moves out•Weekly ‘Community’ meals and meetings initiated•First annual 416 Garage Sale held. Funds go to community account
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Where We Came From2010-2012
2011 –2012•Police calls drop to occasional, and those are appropriate•On Call phone stops ringing•Property looked cared for•Even more new activities are started, including a community kitchen, spa days, outings to the beach and strawberry picking•Community garden initiated•Photovoice Project
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Where We Are Now2012-2013
416 Lakeshore uses a Shared-Community model that offers 20 individualized, self-contained, furnished units while also providing communal areas and activities that create social opportunities and lessen the potential for isolation and loneliness. CMHA Nipissing believes that housing for adults living with mental illness is most successful when it is designed to recognize that each person’s recovery is personal and individualized. This housing model acknowledges that some people prefer to live with others while having space of their own.
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Where We Are Now2012-2013
We have learned:
•That building a community takes time and trust and stability
•That every decision we make must be weighed against its impact on the 416 community and the community members are consulted before decisions are made
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We have learned:•That involving the greater community all the way through the process is the best way to fight the discrimination and fearfulness that is so often found when providing housing for people who live with serious mental illness.•That the best ambassadors for the housing will be happy and content tenants.•That sometimes you have to think outside of the box.
Where We Are Now2012-2013
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We have learned:•No matter how hard you try, there will always be some issue or challenge that you can’t seem to fix or solve.•Smoking inside the units is one of these things.•Sometimes the people you think will struggle the most with the model end up being the biggest success stories
Where We Are Now2012-2013
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With time and stability, 416 will continue to develop and grow into a strong and vibrant Shared Community:The community garden will flourish.The tenants will decide who will move in and mentor the newcomers.We will continue to connect the 416 community to other supports in the greater community, including those that are culturally specific. (we’d really like to have a sweat lodge on site some day, for example)
Where We Want To Be2013 - ????
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It is time for research…
•This model is showing real signs of a promising practice but we have no data apart from qualitative observations to prove it
•Know any good researchers who might be inerested?
Where We Want To Be2013 - ????
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We have learned a lot about politics and process from the 416 journey:The Affordable Housing funding will never be a doable thing for most smaller agencies.
A Cookie Cutter approach will never be able to create successful housing
And finally…
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Creating a Shared Community(Laying Tracks While the Train is
Moving)
Final Thoughts…?
Questions?
Let’s encourage our funders to lay future tracks where we know they will make the biggest difference…
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Thank You!