SUPPORTED HOUSING

• ACL SUPPORTED HOUSING LINKS
• OMH SUPPORTED HOUSING LINKS
• ACCESS TO THE PROGRAMS

DESCRIPTION:

Supported Housing was first developed and funded by the State Office of Mental Health (SOMH) in 1991 in response to the lack of permanent housing with supports for individuals with serious psychiatric illnesses who are partially or completely dependent on the publicly financed mental health system.

The Supported Housing Program provides extended-stay housing with support services to people with serious mental illnesses. The program is targeted for individuals, who, with support services, are capable of living in generic community housing and taking care of their personal needs. There is no OMH certification or licensing process. The level of case management support is commensurate with the individuals’ ability to live independently in the community. Private living units, such as single rooms with shared bathrooms and kitchen/dining facilities or studio apartments are optimal. In shared apartments, clients should have their own bedroom. It is preferred that these units, when possible, are integrated into generic SRO and/or apartment building(s). Residents are not subject to any length of stay requirements and participation in services is not a requirement of tenancy. The housing operator must enter into rental agreements with the individuals. There are three types of Supported Housing sponsored by OMH: Supported Single Room Occupancy (SP-SRO) Single Site Apartments, and Scattered Site Apartments. (taken from the NYS Office of Mental Health Housing Development Manual, October 1998).

ACL NOTE: Since 1998, the State Office of Mental Health has initiated a policy that providers must give priority to High-Risk, High Need individuals, and that they must take part in the Single Point of Access (SPOA), the new referral process that switched control by the providers to one controlled by the SPOA. SPOA is, in turn, controlled by local government or by an entity on behalf of the local government. Providers report that clients’ needs are often greater than the original program model had anticipated.

For OMH Descriptions go to: http://www.omh.state.ny.us/omhweb/rfp%5Fsh/rfp%5Fsp.htm#description