Conference Presentations from the Housing Stability and Mental Illness Summit, sponsored by VCEH and NAMI Virginia.
Housing Stability and Mental Illness Summit
Creating Opportunities for Hope and Recovery
July 22-23, 2012
Workshop presentations and materials from the Summit are made available as a resource for conference participants and those who were unable to attend. Presentations focus on a range of topics including permanent supportive housing, peer support services, fair housing, SOAR, and partnerships with groups including community health entities, community service boards, and faith based groups. This page will continue to be updated as additional conference materials are provided to VCEH.
NAMI Skills Workshop- Better Together: Strengthening our Ability to Serve
NAMI has a strong history of serving and representing the needs of individuals and families affected by mental illness. As a group dedicated to make a difference, NAMI members must be ever mindful of the bigger picture in which we operate and the legal environment in which we all reside. This workshop will focus on the NAMI Standards of Excellence and how these recommended best practices will allow Virginia affiliates to contin#mce_temp_url#ue operating with minimal risk and enhanced credibility, and to create opportunities for further capacity and growth. Susan Gaffney, Senior Project Manager, Operations from NAMI, will be speaking to these topics and providing affiliates with guidance on first steps in utilizing the Standards of Excellence.
NAMI Skills Workshop - Partnerships and Visibility: Getting NAMI to be a Household Name
Wouldn't it be great if the NAMI name was as familiar as other non-profits that we hear of everyday? The key to people finding out about NAMI and the vital programs we offer is through visibility in our communities. This workshop will focus on increasing NAMI’s partnerships and visibility as a viable resource for information and support for those affected by mental illness in our communities. Sarah Eisenman, NAMI Virginia Director of Programs, Farleigh Fitzgerald, NAMI Virginia Walk Manager and Special Projects Coordinator, and Stephany Melton, Virginia Family Network Project Director will be sharing tips and strategies to help all sized affiliate increase their community presence.
- Growing Visibility within the Community Guide
- Getting NAMI to be a Household Name
- Building Partnerships Guide
Overview of Permanent Supportive Housing
Permanent supportive housing, an evidence-based model, is effective in addressing the unique barriers to housing stability. It is a successful, cost-effective combination of affordable housing with voluntary services that helps people live more stable, productive lives. Participants will learn about the critical components of permanent supportive housing in order to understand how it can be best used in their community for persons experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness with multiple barriers to housing and housing stability, including mental illness, chemical dependency, and/or other disabling or chronic health conditions.
Moderator: Shea Hollified, Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development
Presenter: Alice Tousignant, Virginia Supportive Housing
Outreach and Engagement
Individuals without stable housing and living with serious mental illness are often misperceived as difficult to engage and therefore unlikely to be successful in permanent housing. The goal of this workshop is to provide participants information on how to successfully engage this population while increasing dignity and consumer choice. A team of panelists from across the state will provide an overview of outreach practices, share their successes with engagement on the streets and once in housing, while dispelling some commonly held myths about housing readiness.
Moderator: Claudia Gooch, The Planning Council
Panelists: Lynn Fritts, Prince William County Community Services; Sarah Paige Fuller, Norfolk Community Service Board; Mary Aab, Virginia Supportive Housing
- Norfolk Street Outreach Partnership - Sarah Paige Fuller and Mary Aab
Supported Employment and Other Employment Strategies
Obtaining and retaining employment are often challenging for individuals living with mental illness, particularly those who have been involved with the criminal justice system. The principles, models, and practical tools to address employment challenges and help people find and keep meaningful jobs in the community will be presented by panelists from national, state, and local levels. Topics include the evidenced based practice Supported Employment, reentry and recidivism employment strategies (including use of the Risk-Needs-Responsivity principles, as well as practical tools in working with individuals that have criminal records.
Moderator: Michael Shank, Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
Panelists: Adam Sass, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; Hank Rosen, Council of State Governments Justice Center; Denise Biron, Norfolk Department of Human Services
Partnering with Faith Communities
In forming a stronger community-wide response to housing issues, faith based partnerships are a key element to long-term responses to the crisis of homelessness. Enterprise Community Partners, nationally renowned in real estate finance and technical assistance services for developing housing for low-to-moderate income people has led a Faith-Based Development Initiative out of their Washington D.C. office. This workshop will include a presentation on their success in partnering with houses of worship to develop their underutilized real estate into affordable homes, as well as a discussion about how to convene partners.
Presenter: David Bowers, Enterprise Community Partners
Permanent Supportive Housing Models
Units of permanent supportive housing look different in every community. This workshop will provide an overview of three popular housing models: scatter site, single site, and mixed income developments. Panelists will discuss their experience with one or more of the housing models as well as the financing and partnerships needed for each model. Workshop participants will be encouraged to think about what model(s) might work best in their own community.
Moderator: Eric Leabough, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
Panelists: Linda Kaufman, Community Solutions, Inc.; Allison Bogdanovic, Virginia Supportive Housing; Chris Sterling, Virginia Community Development Corporation
The Role of Peer Specialists in Housing
Peer support, a form of social support services, can provide an integral component to housing stability for people seeking recovery from a mental health or substance abuse disorder. By demonstrate success in their own recovery, peer specialists are able to more fully engage individuals in the recovery process. Panelists will provide an overview of peer services, reflect on the success of peer support within their own programs, and discuss the group intervention for adults with mental illness, Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP).
Moderator: Michael Shank, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
Panelists: Bonnie Neighbour, VOCAL; Kristin Yavorsky, Virginia Supportive Housing, Candice Hart, Virginia Supportive Housing
- Peer Support Services - Kristin Yavorsky
- Involvement of Consumers and People in Recovery - Bonnie Neighbor
Connecting Individuals to Disability Benefits with SOAR
SSI/SSDI, Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) is a national initiative to provide training to case managers and other social service workers as they assist their clients in applying for disability benefits through the Social Security Administration. Accessing these benefits is often a critical first step in ensuring further stability in housing. This workshop will present the Commonwealth’s plan for SOAR, how to start SOAR in your community, as well as lessons learned by a successful SOAR community.
Moderator: Rhonda Thissen, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
Panelists: Latasha Howlett, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; Cheryl Molinet, City of Virginia Beach
Partnering with Community Service Boards
Community service boards (CSBs) are the publicly-funded system of services responsible for providing community based mental health, intellectual disability, and substance abuse services across the Commonwealth. Providing these critical services, CSBs are a natural partner in creating housing stability for persons with mental illness experiencing or at-risk of homelessness. Panelists from CSBs across the state will discuss how they became engaged in permanent supportive housing whether it be through services provision, housing, or both.
Moderator: John Pezzoli, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
Panelists: George Braunstein, Fairfax Falls Church Community Service Board; Sarah Paige Fuller, Norfolk Community Service Board, Joy Cipriano, Hampton Newport News Community Service Board
- CSBs as Providers, Developers, and Partners - Joy Cipriano
- Community Services Board as Partner, Liaison, and Advocate - Sarah Paige Fuller
Keynote: Barriers to Discharge from State Hospitals
The Inspector General will share the recent report which summarizes the results of a six-month review of the barriers that prevent the timely discharge of adults with serious mental illness. In the report’s findings, there was a combined monthly average of 165 individuals who are “discharge ready” but not able to leave hospitals due to extraordinary barriers that prevent them from living in the community. The data from the report indicates that the lack of safe, affordable, and stable community housing was the primary reason for delays in discharge.
Presenter: G. Douglas Bevelacqua, Associate Inspector General, Department of Behavioral Heath and Developmental Services
- Office of the State Inspector General Presentation
- Report in Brief: OIG Review of the Barriers to Discharge in State-Operated Adult Behavioral Health Facilities
Creative Ways to Finance Permanent Supportive Housing
Creating permanent supportive housing often requires thinking outside of the box to ensure financing for costs including development, operations, and services. Partnerships with existing housing providers including landlords, public housing authorities, as well as the VA medical centers have been effective across the country in ensuring resources for rental assistance. Panelists will discuss creative ways to finance permanent supportive housing including tax exempt financing, working with localities to obtain loans, the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program (HUD-VASH), and landlord donated units.
Moderator: Chris Hilbert, Virginia Housing Development Authority
Panelists: Michael Wong, Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority; Jeff Doyle, Department of Veterans Affairs
- VA Resources and Partnering with the VA - Jeff Doyle
- Creative Ways to Finance Permanent Supportive Housing - Michael Wong
Serving People with Mental Illness and Criminal Histories
Persons with mental illness often face multiple barriers in securing housing and employment, but too often these barriers are further exacerbated for those with a criminal history. A diverse panel of experts will provide national, state, and local practioner perspectives while also engaging participants in dialogue to enhance their ability to address barriers, provide quality services, and collaborate with partners for success in their own communities.
Moderator: Robin Hulbert, Department of Corrections
Panelists: Victoria Cochran, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; Denise Biron, Norfolk Department of Social Services; Hank Rosen, Council of State Governments Justice Center.
NIMBY and Fair Housing
NIMBY or “not in my back yard,” is a sentiment used to describe resident or community opposition to housing #mce_temp_url#developments that can often derail efforts to provide affordable and accessible housing to those most in need. By bringing together a panel of experts on civil rights litigation and fair housing, participants will learn about successful community engagement strategies and how to address NIMBY. Participants will also gather information on the fair housing laws in place and learn how to address questions that may arise in their efforts to create or access permanent supportive housing.
Moderator: Bruce DeSimone, Virginia Housing Development Authority
Panelists: Michael Allen, Relman, Dane & Colfax, PLLC; Mahalia Dryden-Mason, Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation
- NIMBY and Fair Housing - Michael Allen
- NIMBY and the Fair Housing Law in Virginia - Mahalia Dryden-Mason
- Why Not in Our Backyard?
- The NIMBY Report, The Olmstead Factor: Integrating Housing for People with Disabilities
Community Health Partnerships and Health Policy
As health and housing are inextricably linked, partnerships with health care providers can lead to more successful outcomes in permanent supportive housing. National experts will review how both the policy and practice arenas can be better tapped to address housing instability and in turn reduce overall system costs. Participants will also learn about other communities’ successes in engaging health care systems in the work of ending homelessness.
Moderator: Kathy Robertson, Department of Housing and Community Development
Panelists: Peggy Bailey, Corporation for Supportive Housing; Linda Kaufman, Community Solutions
Federal and State Policy Forum
Federal and State policy directly impact the ability to address housing stability and mental illness at the local level through the creation of permanent supportive housing. National and state policy experts will provide updates on existing policy issues, review policy recommendations and priorities, and discuss with participants ways in which they can become engaged in national and state advocacy. Participants will engage in open discussion and Q&A with presenters to consider policy recommendations.
Moderator: Phyllis Chamberlain, Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness
Panelists: Peggy Bailey, Corporation for Supportive Housing; Robin Gahan, Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness; Mira Signer, NAMI Virginia; Andrew Sperling, National Alliance for Mental Illness
GENERAL RESOURCES
Article in the New Yorker by Malcolm Gladwell explaining why it is easier to solve homelessness than to manage it.
Abt Associates, Inc., Buron, Larry, Locke, Gretchen, Montgomery, Ann Elizabeth, Pearson, Carol, Walter R. McDonald & Associates, Inc. The Applicability of Housing First Models to Homeless Persons with Serious Mental Illness. July, 2007.
Cattaraugus Community Action, Inc. The Derby Apartments. 2005.
Corporation for Supportive Housing
Corporation for Supportive Housing. Between the Lines: A Question and Answer Guide on Legal Issues in Supportive Housing. May 2010.
Corporation for Supportive Housing. The New York/New York Agreement Cost Study: The Impact of Supportive Housing on Services Use for Homeless Mentally Ill Individuals. New York, NY: May 2001.
Corporation for Supportive Housing. Welcome to the Small Towns Toolkit – A Guide to Creating Supportive Housing in Suburban and Small Towns. 2005.
Culhane, D., Metraux, S., Hadley, T. Public Service Reductions Associated with Placement of Homeless Persons with Severe Mental Illness in Supportive Housing. December 31, 1999.
Green Communities. Living on Track. Medford, Oregon: June, 2007.
Mondello, M., Bradley, J., Chalmers, T., & Shore, N. Cost of Rural Homelessness: Rural Permanent Supportive Housing Cost Analysis. MaineHousing, Maine Department of Health and Human Services.2009.
National Alliance to End Homelessness
National Alliance to End Homelessness. Strategies of State Mental Health Agencies to Prevent and End Homelessness. Washington, DC: 2009.
National Alliance to End Homelessness. Rural Homelessness. Washington, DC: 2010.
Patton, L.T. The Rural Homeless. Homelessness, Health, and Human Needs, 183-217. 1988.
The Pew Charitable Trust. Time for Reform: Aging Out and On Their Own- More Teens Leaving Foster Care Without a Permanent Family. Washington, D.C.: 2007.
Skryha, V. A Look at Supportive Housing for Mental Health Consumers in Four Oregon Counties: Final Report of PhaseI of the Oregon Supportive Housing Evaluation Project. Oregon Department of Human Services. Portland, Oregon: 1999.
Technical Assistance Collaborative
United States HUD Homelessness Resource Center
Virginia Joint Legislative and Audit Review Commission. Reducing Veteran Homelessness in Virginia.
June 14, 2010: Richmond, VA.
Virginia Supportive Housing. Supportive Housing Needs Assessment: Martinsville and Henry County.
Richmond, VA: July 2010.
