Housing Options Made Easy, Inc.Presents

Peer Run Housing Innovations

Joseph WoodwardExecutive Director

Presented at NYAPRS 29th Annual Conference,

September 15th, 2011

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New York – the one you know and love

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New York- the one we know and love

There but for the grace...your picture is not here.

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New York

Drop in Homeless Count Draws Skepticism

By JULIE BOSMAN

City officials said on Wednesday that the number of homeless people living on the streets in New York has declined by 30 percent in one year, prompting one prominent advocacy group to immediately dismiss the estimate as far-fetched. ………………………………………………………… REALLY?

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Home is where the heart is.

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History of Housing Options Made Easy, Inc.

  Housing Options began in 1990, when a group of past and present mental health peers recognized the need to advocate for better and safer housing for individuals being discharged from the hospitals.  By the time of the agency’s 10th anniversary the agency went from a few crisis beds to 180 beds covering four counties - Erie , Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, and Allegany. Since 2006 Housing Options Made Easy has expanded services to include Niagara and Monroe counties and currently we have over 390 scattered site apartments.

           

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Housing Options Made Easy, Inc. is a not-for-profit supported housing and community support

agency developed and operated by and for recipients of mental health

services.

Who we are

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Housing Options Made Easy, Inc.

Mission Statement

To achieve complete social equality for individuals with mental illness by providing supported housing and other services so that individuals may live with dignity and have choices in the community.

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Housing Options Made Easy, Inc.Vision Statement

Housing Options is a not-for-profit supported housing and community support services agency developed and operated by and for recipients of mental health services.

Housing Options is committed to decreasing stigma by increasing awareness of mental illness through information, education and advocacy. Efforts are focused on recipients, family members, community members, and mental health providers.

Housing Options is building a continuum of accessible services that will meet the needs of recipients. These services will promote empowerment, wellness, and recovery. We respect the uniqueness and individuality of each person and their right of choice.Inherent in this is an understanding and acceptance of the corresponding responsibility accompanying individual decisions.

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• There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great And no tonic so powerful As the expectation Of something better tomorrow.

• Orien Swett Marden

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Guiding Principles

Agency provides services that are peer driven Our board is to be no less than 51% peers Majority of staff are recipients We believe in the housing first model Treat people as individuals and not diagnoses Develop services that reflect individuality Respectful treatment and understanding of

individual choice Encourage self responsibility and community

integration in personal decision making

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• I am not interested in the past. I am interested in the future, for that is where I expect to spend the rest of my life.

Charles F. Kettering

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Guidelines for Services

Be at least 18 years of age. Provide documentation of low income

status Have a primary psychiatric diagnosis (Axis

1) with DSM IV code Be functionally disabled in at least three of

the following areas: Self-Care~Social functioning~Activities of

daily living~Self-direction~Ability to concentrate

To be an eligible recipient of services, you must meet the following guidelines.

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What makes us unique? Nearly all of our staff and board are mental heath

peers 20 years of housing and peer work We work with individuals and families Supports for our client Peer and person centered policy and procedures True empowerment and choice Working with the psychiatric centers Our training programs Multi county involvement: urban, rural and very rural Community integration Tremendous cost savings to funding governmental

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What we do Supported Housing Peer Advocacy Services Long Term Care Services Mentor/Support for Other

Peer Run Agencies Advocacy Training Self-help Support Groups Community

Empowerment Friendship Line Benefit Advisement and

trainings Family and Parenting

Support/Linkage

Believe that healing is possible

Recognize the power of the individual

Focus forward not backward Focus on life rather on

illness Recognize that big problems

don’t necessarily need big solutions

Keep hope alive Accept backsliding Participation not being a

spectator

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Individual/Family Assistance Since 2002 we have assisted over 250 families We are currently serving 59 families

Supportive Housing Program for Individuals/Families

Housing stabilityCommunity and school stabilityCreating meaning and purpose in lifeMotivating for recovery/wellnessImproving self-esteem

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Supportive Housing Program for Individuals/Families

(Continued)Providing opportunities for love and supportHelping individual and families to feel connected to others and integrated into the communityCreating natural support opportunities through the activities of other family membersProviding a valued social and family roleAssisting with educational/vocational and employment opportunities

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Supportive Housing Program for Individuals/Families

(Continued)

• We work with families in overcoming the following barriers:

Avoiding treatment because of fear of loss of custody

Having increased symptoms during pregnancy

Having disrupted sleep because of child care and feeding schedules

Dealing with the stresses of parenting

Dealing with limitations of financial, housing, work, and social opportunities

Facing the potential trauma of loosing child custody

Facing prejudice and stigma because they are parents with mental illness

Parent needing to be hospitalized

Supporting and providing referrals for separation, divorce, domestic violence

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Supportive Housing Program for Families(Continued)

Services offered to families in addition to what we offer everyone:

Being role models of successful parents with mental illness

Peer sharing Informing of state laws

regarding custody and abuse Modeling parenting skills Connecting with appropriate

and needed parenting and child services

Assisting with referrals regarding pregnancy care

Helping with family reunification 19

Supportive Housing Program for Individuals and Families

(Continued)

Outcomes Reduced stigma Community integration Productive roles Reduced crisises Housing stability Financial stability Educational stability Cost savings Increased social support Improved social functioning Improved self-esteem and

empowerment

Increased family stability Strengthened self

advocacy

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Current Housing ProgramsCounty Program Type # of Beds

Allegany OMH SHP 9 Cattaraugus OMH SHP 82 HUD SHP 12 HUD SHP 6 apartment 6

Chautauqua OMH SHP 35 HUD SHP 7 HUD SHP 5 21

Current Housing ProgramsCounty Program Type # of Beds

Erie

OMH SHP 43 LONG Term SHP 63 HUD S+C 1 20 HUD S+C 5 20 HUD SHP 20 Niagara OMH SHP 15 Monroe Long Term SHP 46 Total: 390

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The Chinese symbol; for crisis connotes danger and opportunity

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity

Albert Einstein

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Long Term SH Program• 2 transitional apartments in Erie County• Training program within the RPC and BPC Psychiatric Hospitals and

facilities• Community self-help groups• Apartments stay open for 90 days if clients needs re-hospitalization

or because of other issues• Client choose the apartment of their choice within the community

that is supportive to their recovery efforts.• BPC –    18 clients have been in the program 2 years or more.•            18 clients have been in the program 1 year or more.  (36)•             17 clients have been in the program 6 months or more.  (53)•             9 clients have been in the program 3 months or more.  (62)• Staff see them on a ongoing basis and they receive the benefits

that all our agency clients receive.

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Long Term Stay continued, BPC:• 73 referrals, only 3 denials (6 went back, not ready or turned

down the program)• 70 admissions for the 2+ year program• 49 in program • 21 discharges – 30%• 6 were in the program less than 6 months-.28%• 14 in program more than 6 months-66%• 12 re-hospitalizations and 1 returned to our program, 17%• 2-arrested • 2 in school • 6 volunteering and/or working• 4 deaths

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Long Term Stay continued, RPC• 1 clients have been in the program 2 years or more• 13 clients have been in the program 1 year or more• 14 clients have been in the program 6 months or more (27)• 12 clients have been in the program 3 months or more (40)• 44 referrals, NO denials• 44 admissions• 35 currently in the program• 9 discharges-20%• 8 re-hospialized-18%• 8 volunteering and/or working• 1 death

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Long Term Stay continued Approximate Psychiatric hospitalization Cost:• RPC- approximately $225,000 per year or $616.00 a day• BPC- approximately $207,000 per year or $567.00 a day

• Approximate cost savings or cost reallocations:BPC program- $13,403,250RPC program-$5,625,000Total: $19,028,250This is an approximate number I have gotten from NYSOMH and does not

include soft costs like ICM, CM and ACT services which in many cases are no longer needed.

• Our cost: approximately: $8,500.00 annually or $23.00 a day, which includes:

security deposit, first months rent, ongoing peer services, start-up furniture and household items, bus pass, and client would pay 30% of their income towards their rent and we would pay the difference. Other miscellaneous costs: utilities, food, moves, pest spraying and damage as examples.

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Long term stay continued:• Our reason for success• Consumer choice• Training programs and relations that have been developed• Partnerships we have made with the psychiatric centers• Transitional apartments and the type they are!• Person centered and integrated community services and supports• Peer role modeling• Trainings for the traditional staff• Benefits in place• Fear taken away• Community integration• Good follow-up• Realistic goals for the individuals• Person centered discharge goals

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What is our Peer Training Program?

1. Housing Options Made Easy offers different levels of Peer Specialist Training: New and ongoing employee training, Peer Advocacy Training,

College-based Peer Specialist Training, and Long Term Care Transitional Training Programs.

Our college-based training is designed to prepare peer providers to function in a variety of roles as peer in the workplace.

Our Long Term Care Training assists individuals who are currently residents of psychiatric hospitals to gain skills, confidence, and support as they transition into living independently in the communities of their choice.

Our Peer Advocacy and Empowerment training prepares peers to obtain jobs, sit on boards and get involved in their community.

Our employee training (see table of content handout)

2 . Housing Options also provides benefit advisement and training.

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Warm Line ServicesIt’s your call

1-877-IAM-HEREFREE * SUPPORTIVE* CONFIDIDENTAL* NON CRISIS

Our callers talk about a variety of topics and sometimes they just call to tell us about their day, to check in and let us know how they are doing.

We are there to listen and to offer support or suggestions when requested or desired. Our Friendship Line is a peer run line which is available during hours most traditional providers offices are closed.

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Employment Recruitment and Peer Support Average employee years of service: 8 years Flexibility within the employee handbook Peer to Peer supervision HR consultants Media advertisement Our training program Promotional opportunities with good benefit package Flexible hours Hiring people within the counties we serve Development of teams TQM style to encourage employee investment and feeling of

ownership Contingency management Partnerships and collaboration within New York State and

each community we serve31

Supporting Data

Since 2002 our recipients have reported:

90% have less need for crisis intervention 99% have found their housing stability has

improved 96% that their ability to live more

independently has improved 94% indicate improvement in daily living skills 90% have reported an improvement in social

and personal relationships

*Please see our website www.housingoptions.org for additional information

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Service Delivery Tips What we can do to build strong peer run agencies that

empower those we serve…

Include peers in program planning, implementation, and evaluation.

Involve peers in identifying and developing curriculum for staff training.

Appoint peers to sit on agency governing and advisory boards.

Educate all agency staff on appropriate methods for addressing clients with mental illness. Use person first language in all agency communication and correspondence.

Support staff who disclose having a mental illness, other disability, or history of homelessness. 33

Where are we headed?

Expanding of our training programs Working with diversion populations: Vets, transitional

youth criminal justice and aging out populations Working within more counties and psychiatric centers Being involved with more state and national initiatives Becoming more nationally focused and looking into

other states to help strengthen their peer movement. Continue with the agency mentorship program Supporting home-ownership Providing more peer job opportunities Developing a peer run community residence healing

center Publishing our material Becoming a best practice 34

Joe Woodward is available to provide dynamic, interactive presentations, workshops and strategic

planning sessions for state agencies, non-profit organizations, community boards and peer

organizations. Please contact him at:

joe@housingoptions.org or716-532-5508, ext. 14

Questions and Answers

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All materials are the intellectual property of Housing Options Made Easy, Inc. The programs that Housing Options have developed and the materials can only be used with the specific written permission of Housing Options Made Easy, Inc.Copyright©2011 by Housing Options Made Easy, Inc.

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Resourceswww.housingoptions.orgHOME website for more informationwww.mentalhealth.samhsa.govMental Health Information Networkmhepinc.orgConsumer White Paperwww.cooccurringdisordersnys.orgInformation on Co-Occurring Disorderswww.circleofparents.orgParenting Resources

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Resources Continued

www.power2u.orgMental Health Empowerment Project, Inc.www.nrc-pad.orgCopy of Printable Advanced Directivewww.health.state.ny.usPrintable Health Care Proxy Formswww.parentalmentalillness.orgParent Support Network

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If you would like to receive a copy of this power point presentation please contact

Joe Woodward, Executive Director 716-532-5508

Housing Options Made Easy, Inc.

75 Jamestown Street Gowanda, New York 14070

joe@housingoptions.org

Thank you for time!

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