Options for Community Living, Inc. has been awarded a $250,000 contract through the Suffolk County Department of Health Services to provide residential support services to adults recovering from mental illness.
In the past, the New York State Office of Mental Health, OMH, funded housing which provided intensive levels of supervision (community residences and apartment treatment programs) for individuals being discharged from a hospital or with significant histories of homelessness and other challenges. These intensive levels of housing are no longer being developed and new OMH-funded beds in supported housing programs lack the capability for assistance that many individuals require. As a result, the idea of a Mobile Residential Support Team, MRST, was developed. The MRST will assist individuals with serious mental illness and multiple challenges to successfully adjust to an independent setting and maintain supported housing residency.
Options MRST services include medication management, supportive counseling, crisis intervention, vocational services, referrals and linkages, smoking cessation, wellness and self –management and more. Services are available in western Suffolk County to residents in OMH funded supported housing and are coordinated with mental health and physical health care providers to achieve and maintain optimal health and independent living. An Options trained professional is available 7 days a week to provide in-home support services as resident’s progress towards personal recovery.
“Options has developed a well-trained team to help supported housing residents maintain their individual physical and emotional health and generally improve the quality of their own lives,” stated Yolanda Robano-Gross, executive director, Options for Community Living. “We anticipate helping between 100 and 120 people annually to retain their housing and independence.”