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The NYSPA Report: Families of Suicided Soldiers to Get Letter of Condolence from President
During July of this year, President Obama announced that he would begin sending letters of condolence to the families of troops who kill themselves in combat zones. He noted that this was a decision that was made after a difficult and exhaustive review of the former policy and he added, “I did...
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The Padavan Law and Group Home Placement
The term “Not in My Back Yard,” familiarized by the acronym NIMBY, held true with particular force in New York in the 1970’s with regard to group homes for the mentally ill. Towns, villages, and cities, often with misplaced and misinformed fears about the effect the mentally ill will have on...
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The Redesign of Housing
In the Spring of 2007, the NYS Office of Mental Health, reached out to the residential providers in New York State asking them to review and provide feedback to the Guiding Principles for the Re-design of the (OMH) Housing and Community Support Policies. The message from the OMH was that safe,...
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The Spectrum of Healing: Housing, Recovery, Learning, Working
First and foremost, Community Access is an organization that provides safe, stable housing for individuals with psychiatric disabilities and working families. We’ve always recognized the fundamental importance of putting roofs over heads, and of giving people the chance—for many, for the first...
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At EDCSPIN People Live In “Houses Like Mine”
Housing for People with illnesses, disorders and disabilities should reflect the community and be like their neighbors. The notion that people who require support, services and programs should live differently misses the point that they will benefit from inclusion, not exception. At EDCSPIN, our...
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The Use of Harm Reduction in Housing Improves Critical Outcome Indicators in the SMI/CD Population
With the current changes in Medicaid reform about to take place, it has become more important than ever to produce measurable results in resource administration. The management of limited high cost Medicaid and or Medicaid support services is imperative as well. With the proposal from the New York...
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When Government Looks for Healthcare Savings, Supportive Housing Has the Answer
These days, it seems that on all levels of government, healthcare programs are being reexamined for cost savings, efficiencies and better outcomes. Nationally, healthcare reform and the Affordable Care Act will provide new opportunities to serve the most vulnerable populations and perhaps bend the...
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A Perspective on Mental Health Housing in New York State
What an accomplishment! In the past 25 years (I may be off by a year or two) the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) has supported the development of 30,000 residential units for persons who have serious mental illness. Development began with the establishment of congregate supervised...
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Bringing It All Back Home: Housing Innovations and the NYS Medicaid Redesign Teams
Much discussion has occurred during the last few years on reducing the high health care cost and improving outcomes for people with a serious mental illness. These individuals use a disproportionate amount of care, much of which may be unnecessary or avoidable, and tragically die 25 years earlier...
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Housing…Then and Now
Over 20 years ago the Office of Mental Health awarded several agencies a contract to provide Supported Housing. Supported Housing created a housing program that provided permanent housing to individuals with a severe and persistent mental illness who could live independently in the community. That...
