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The Triumph of “Recovery”
By the early 1970s, just a few years after aggressive deinstitutionalization began, it became clear that merely keeping people with serious and persistent mental illness out of the hospital and in the community was not enough. It was not even enough to make sure that they got good psychiatric...
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Honoring Donna Colonna’s Contribution to the Field of Human Services
After 25 years of passionate and dedicated service as the CEO of Services for the UnderServed (S:US), Donna Colonna recently announced her plan to retire in February 2022. Donna has spent her nearly 50-year career working to promote self-determination for people who have been disadvantaged by the...
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Grand Opening of Liberty Station – A New Housing Development in Port Jefferson Station
Concern Housing, Inc., a Medford-based non-profit agency committed to helping individuals live with dignity and enhanced opportunities, celebrated the grand opening of Liberty Station in Port Jefferson Station, New York. Liberty Station, a 77-unit rental community, provides workforce and...
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Housing and Mental Health Services Are Key to Recovering from Trauma
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 are served by Services for the UnderServed (S:US), a New York City-based nonprofit that is committed to giving every New...
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Putting Tech to Work: Adapting and Enhancing Our Services
Putting advanced technology to work at Odyssey House was underway before COVID-19 disrupted our work and personal lives forcing us to change how we interact with each other. We have consistently invested in ways to make our administrative and program management tasks more efficient with remote...
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Why Healthcare Systems Should Address Housing Insecurity
She had seen it in the movies a long time ago. She was sure it wouldn’t work, but at this point, she didn’t have much else to hang her hopes on. She was tired, cold, and hungry. She looked down. They weren’t ruby red and they certainly couldn’t pass as elegant heels, but despite all of...
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Stable Housing: A Determinant of Our Behavioral Health
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 author is served by Services for the UnderServed (S:US), a New York City-based nonprofit that is committed to giving every New...
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We Are All Essential: Surviving the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Supportive Housing Agency
In early March 2020, NYC was on the cusp of true panic mode related to the Coronavirus, with calls for mass isolation and social distancing, a rush to buy vast quantities of toilet paper and supplies of hand sanitizer and masks rapidly exhausted. Very little guidance was in the public domain...
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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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Investing in Whole Person Care in Supported Housing: Improving Health, Enhancing Recovery
At ICL, we offer a range of housing opportunities for people with serious mental illness – people who have been homeless, living in a shelter or on the streets, with long histories of mental health and substance use issues; some with HIV/AIDS; many from prison, state hospitals and adult homes....
