Michigan Receives Grant to Provide Substance Abuse, Mental Health Services to Homeless

LANSING – October 30, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) has been awarded a $1,857,768 three year grant by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to provide services to chronically homeless individuals who have substance abuse disorders or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders. The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) assisted in the grant application process.

Services will be conducted while they are being housed and after they are housed and will include outreach, assessment, assistance in finding suitable housing, and substance abuse and mental health services. MSHDA will be assisting MDCH in monitoring compliance with the grant provisions and in identifying housing resources.

MDCH will be contracting with the Neighborhood Services Organization (NSO) and Southwest Solutions, two Detroit-based organizations that work with housing programs for homeless individuals. The two agencies already contract with MDCH for other programs that assist the homeless.

The Michigan Housing and Recovery Initiative (MHRI) program will screen 3,000 potential participants throughout the three year grant period. During the first year, 200 individuals will be enrolled and served, followed by an additional 100 in the second and third years for a total of 400 chronically homeless individuals served throughout the grant period. It is expected that all participants will be offered assistance to apply for mainstream benefits.

MHRI will provide holistic integrative care by practicing Housing First, which values housing as the primary need that must be addressed first. The goals and objectives of the project will work to assist individuals in the following ways:

Find permanent supportive housing
Maintain housing long term
Enrollment in mainstream benefits including Medicaid, SSI, SSDI, TANF, SNAP, and veteran benefits
Behavioral health recovery for substance use and mental health disorders
Physical wellness