InvisALERT Solutions – ObservSMART

Archive for the ‘Fall 2017 Issue’ Category

ICL Housing: Like a Nice Piece of CAKE

As the story goes, at ICL we’ve been saying for quite a while, that Housing is much more than just a bed, some clean sheets and case management services. At ICL we believe that Housing is far more complex and that at the very core of all of our Housing is hope and relationship building. Today,...

Vulnerable Populations: People of Color in Leadership Roles

While we all know that much stress comes with leadership, authority and responsibility, People of Color (POC) in leadership roles must also deal with the unique stressor of structural racism. Viewing Barack Obama’s experience as President clearly indicates that even highly educated, successful...

The NYSPA Report: Recovery and the Federal Fair Housing Act

This issue of Behavioral Health News focuses on “the vital role of housing in the recovery process.” We know that stable housing is important to individuals seeking treatment and that recovery is possible when a person’s basic need for safety and housing are met. Having somewhere safe and...

Supportive Housing Development: Achievements, Challenges and Opportunities

Government-funded supportive housing in New York State has a richly textured history that entails an amalgam of competing philosophies, political trends and economic imperatives. A complete survey of this history is beyond the scope of this article, and a comprehensive assessment of the “current...

The Critical Solution for Homeless Older Adults: Tools for Aging in Place

Older adults over the age of 50 who are homeless are oftentimes an overlooked subpopulation. Nicknamed the “invisible population” by many including the Corporation for Supportive Housing (Healthy Aging in Supportive Housing, 2016), their needs differ from the general population of homeless...

The Current State of OMH Housing

New York is one of the most expensive states in the country to live in, while the consumers that our nonprofit OMH housing providers serve are among the poorest. This combination requires New York State to step in to help make available enough safe and affordable housing for the most vulnerable...

Recovery Begins with Housing

Concern for Independent Living, a leading non-profit provider of supportive housing, held a Ribbon Cutting/Grand Opening Ceremony on June 30, 2017 to celebrate the opening of Concern Bergen, a 90-unit supportive housing development for persons with disabilities and families in need of affordable...

More Than a Roof

Today’s focus on revenue streams, value-based payments and the needs of people who use multiple services creates one of two false paradigms. Either we try to fit the square peg of supported housing into the round hole of clinical interventions, or we reduce housing to merely a roof over one’s...

WellLife Network: Offering a Continuum of Residential Services Vital to the Recovery Process

More than 800 people live with dignity and as independently as possible in WellLife Network’s behavioral health housing settings throughout New York City and Long Island. Each day, our homes integrate care into the community and celebrate residents’ cultures and traditions. Using a...

Mental Illness and Homeless Baby-Boomers: What Can Be Done?

Greater longevity combined with the aging of the baby-boom generation is rapidly increasing the 50-and-over age group in the United States. The greatest surge will be seen among the population aged 65 and over, which is expected to increase by 65% by 2030 (“Demographics of an aging America”...