Community Support

Places for People recognizes that people living with serious and persistent mental illness will have unique needs, strengths, goals, and histories. To promote recovery from serious mental illness, Places for People provides comprehensive services to address any needs a client might have. These services are based on individualized treatment plans, which are designed through a partnership between staff and client.

Services are provided in a team environment, with low client-to-staff ratios, and with 24/7 on-call accessibility in case of emergencies. Examples of available community support services include:

• Assistance finding housing and remaining housed
• Coordination of all psychiatric and medical health care needs
• Medication management
• Financial management services, including budgeting and payeeship
• Social skills training
• Assistance with daily living activities
• Substance abuse treatment
• Parenting support
• Vocational/educational assistance
• Education about health/wellness/nutrition

Services are evidence-based, which means past studies have demonstrated they are effective. Most of these services are provided in the community, to promote education and independence.

A team of professionals collaborates to provide these services. Three teams are Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams, which feature a psychiatrist, nurse, and vocational and substance abuse specialists.

These teams work with clients with complex challenges, including chronic homelessness, substance abuse, and frequent, but ineffective, interactions with public services (medical, psychiatric, and legal). Two community support teams also specialize in Homeless Outreach. One team has a special focus on providing all the assistance for people who are HIV-positive and have a mental illness to live more healthy lives and access the care and services they need. Supporting these teams are our on-site psychiatrists, nursing staff, and Client Accounts staff.

We believe that each client is an individual, deserves to be treated with respect and digntiy, and we welcome everyone—no matter what stage of recovery they may be in. For clients who have no hope, we will hold hope for them.

Read a client's story that speaks to the value and success of this approach.