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Housing as an Innovative Solution in Medicaid Redesign
As state leaders and stakeholders look to contain spending growth in New York’s Medicaid program, one proven way to a more cost-effective care system with better outcomes, is through supportive housing services for high-cost Medicaid recipients. Housing and health are deeply interconnected....
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Aging in Supportive Housing: One Fall Away from Institutionalization
Lucy is a 62-year-old woman who has lived in supportive housing for over a decade. She has been treated for bipolar I disorder and has a history of suicidality. Like many older adults with mental health challenges, Lucy has several chronic health problems which are monitored by her primary care...
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Supported Housing Saved My Life
This article is part of a quarterly series giving voice to the perspectives of individuals with lived experiences as they share their opinions on a particular topic. The authors of this column facilitated a focus group of their peers to inform this writing. The authors are served by Services for...
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Using the Fair Housing Act to Obtain Housing for People with Disabilities
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed into law amendments to the Federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) that extended the provisions of that law to persons with disabilities. The FHA prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of disability. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed into law the...
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Deinstitutionalization Did Not Cause Homelessness: Loss of Low-income Housing and Disability Benefits Did
I recently read yet another article that blames homelessness on deinstitutionalization. Yes, a disproportionate number of homeless people have long-term mental disorders, and yes some—perhaps a third—of these people would have been in state hospitals 65 or 70 years ago when that was pretty much...
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Addressing the Psychological Fallout of The Coronavirus Pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic in the United States has led to great efforts to prevent the spread of the virus and to prevent fatalities. But the problems that people will face due to the pandemic will go beyond medical issues. In addition, it will be important to address a variety of psychosocial...
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Housing Heals: How MHA of Westchester is Making a Difference
The philosophy of The Mental Health Association of Westchester’s (MHA) housing services and supports is rooted in the principles of person-centered practice and the belief that individuals with behavioral health conditions—even those with histories of instability or little experience of living...
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Permanent Supportive Housing: A Foundation for Wellness and Recovery from Chronic Mental Health and Substance Use Conditions
Three years ago, Jeannette Lewis and her 16-year-old son spent Christmas in a homeless shelter in the Bronx. With a history of chronic substance use and a disability due to a traumatic brain injury, Ms. Lewis struggled to maintain stable housing and care for her family. Her two older sons no longer...
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Working with High Risk, High Need, High Utilizers in a Mixed Use Setting: One Agency’s Experience
In a post DSRIP era, where sources of value based funding are scarce and community based organizations are still struggling to find a foot in the door partnering with the managed care industry and hospital settings, I thought it would be worth highlighting a few successful initiatives Concern for...
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Using Social Determinants of Health for the Field of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
The concept of social determinants of health (SDOH) is particularly useful for the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Of course, this is not new news because the field has been engaged in building the social determinants of health for over 40 years. By just looking at...
