STAFF
Places for People employs 47 Community Support Workers who provide the agency’s core mental health services. Staff have backgrounds in social work, rehabilitation, counseling, nursing and psychiatry.
Community Support Workers provide
a wide range of individualized and flexible services that are available 365 days a year (if needed), and provided in the community, i.e., in client’s homes, at the grocery store, in a doctor’s office, etc.
THE TEAM APPROACH
PfP manages caseloads and client support by utilizing a Continuous Treatment Team approach that differs from traditional case management programs:
Each team member works with each client on the team.
Average staff to client ration of 1:10
Teams meet daily and plan their schedule of visits together.
Each team has a Masters level team leader.
Services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year: one person from each team is on call at all times.
Services are provided in the community, i.e., in people’s homes, at the grocery store, in a doctor’s office, or in court, etc.
Services are comprehensive and involved in every area of an individual’s life.
Each team is composed of five to seven clinically-trained staff members who work with 50-70 clients. Any team member can respond to a client’s need. The team approach also allows for maximum coverage and continuity of care in the most cost-effective manner.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT TEAMS PROVIDE A WIDE RANGE OF SERVICES INCLUDING:
Assistance in finding, getting and keeping housing
Assistance with community integration, creating supportive relationships and overcoming fear of others
Assistance with establishing life and individual recovery goals, e.g. school, work, parenting
Assistance with managing Medicaid, Social Security and other public assistance
Coordination of all medical and psychiatric care
Medication management
Money management and payeeship
Parenting Supports
Problem solving and crisis intervention
Social skills training
Substance abuse services
Teaching and supporting people in activities of daily living
Treatment planning
INDIVIDUALIZED TREATMENT PLANS
Because each client has different skills, strengths, weaknesses and goals; PfP tailors the intensity of services provided on a client-by-client basis. Services are designed to assist individuals in meeting their own personal goals.
ON-SITE NURSING, MEDICAL AND PSYCHIATRIC CARE
Two staff nurses assist Community Support Workers with coordinating client medical care. PfP’s Board Certified Medical Director is also available for psychiatric consultation.
PfP’s nursing and Community Support staff assist clients in addressing other complex medical problems that disproportionately affect people living with mental illness, including:
COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder)
Hepatitis
High blood pressure
HIV/AIDS
Obesity
Type II Diabetes
MONEY MANAGEMENT / CLIENT ACCOUNTING SERVICES
PfP offers money management services that provide clients assistance with:
Budgeting
Housing vouchers
Bill paying
Medicaid Spend-Down
Managing and coordinating Social Security and disability benefits
Medicare drug plan
PROGRAM FUNDING
Funding from Missouri Department of Mental Health supports 67% of PfP’s Community Support programs. Homeless Outreach programs are funded by Saint Louis Mental Health Board.
In 2005, cuts in state Medicaid funding resulted in a loss of more than $100,000 annually in reimbursable Community Support services.
Despite these cuts, Places for People did not reduce services to clients or eject clients from the program.
Show your Support for Places for People:
Places for People
4130 Lindell Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63108
Tel: 314-535-5600
Fax: 314-535-6037
Toll-Free: 800-584-3930
www.placesforpeople.org
