Who is eligible?

Adults with a Severe and Disabling Mental Illness who:

1. Are enrolled in or qualify for Sections 17 Community Support Services or Section 97 Community Residential Treatment Programs.

Specific Requirements. 

• • • • • The person is age eighteen (18) or older or is an emancipated minor with:
        • Has a primary diagnosis of Schizophrenia or Schizo-affective disorder or another non-excluded primary DSM 5 diagnosis or DSM 4 equivalent.

Excluded Diagnosis include, but are not limited to: Neuro-cognitive Disorders, Neuro-developmental Disorders, Antisocial Personality Disorder and Substance Use Disorders.

Examples of excluded diagnosis include, but are not limited to:

Alzheimer’s, Antisocial Personality disorder, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Autism, Intellectual and learning disabilities, Parkinson's disease, and Substance Abuse Disorders (unless they are co-occurring with an eligible diagnosis.

• • • • • Has significant impairment or limitation in adaptive behavior or functioning.directly related to the primary diagnosis and defined by the LOCUS or other acceptable standardized assessment tools approved by the Department. 

Must have a LOCUS score, as determined by a LOCUS Certified Assessor, of seventeen (17) (Level III) or greater, except that to be eligible for Community Rehabilitation Services (17.04-2) and ACT (17.04-3), the member must have a LOCUS score of twenty (20) (Level IV) or greater.

Risk Factors:

Has a documented or reported history, stating that he/she is likely to have future episodes of homelessness, criminal justice involvement, or require mental health inpatient treatment greater than 72 hours, or residential treatment related to mental illness.

2. Currently receives SSI/SSDI benefits, or have applied for benefits

3. Has applied for a Section 8 Housing Voucher, or is currently on the wait-list.

4. Fits in one of the following priorities.

• • • Priority 1:            Psychiatric Discharge after seventy-two (72) hour or greater psychiatric inpatient hospital admission

Individuals who are being discharged, or were discharged within the past thirty (30) days from:

• • • • • • Riverview Psychiatric Center or Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center.
            
          • A private psychiatric hospital or facility.
            

Individuals who are moving from a Community Residential Treatment Program to less restrictive accommodations to allow for appropriate discharges, as determined by the clinical team from the institutions mentioned above.

• • • Priority 2:            Release from a Correctional Facility

Individuals who have been released within the last thirty (30) days, or will be released within the next thirty (30) days, from confinement in a Correctional Facility and have no subsequent residences identified, or have been adjudicated through a Mental Health treatment court.

 

• • • Priority 3:             Literal Homelessness, as defined by HUD

An individual or family who:

• • • • Has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not meant for human habitation.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• • • • • • • • • Living in a tent, in a public park, or in the woods.
                • Living in a camper or RV that is substandard and does not have access to clean water and utilities.*
                • Living in an insulated shed in a friend’s backyard with no access to the residence.

• • • • Is living in a homeless shelter or designated temporary living arrangements (to include congregate shelters, transitional housing, and hotels and motels paid for by charitable organizations or by federal, state and local government programs).

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• • • • • • • • • Emergency Shelters
                • Transitional housing and voucher programs, as long as individual was verified to be homeless before entry.
                • Living in a motel paid by a charity, local General Assistance office, non-profit, religious organization, etc.

What does not count as homelessness?

• • • • • • • • • Sleeping in a RV or Camper that is properly maintained, has functioning onboard water and sewer connection (including functioning storage tank as designed), and can retain heat during the winter.
                • Staying at a hotel paid by a family member, friend, insurance policy, or employer
                • Living in a transitional housing program where prior homelessness cannot be verified.
                • Living in a transitional housing program for substance abuse, or as part of a condition of release from incarceration.
                • Evictions
                • Staying with a friend, family member, or another person (couch surfing)
  • • • Victim of Domestic Violence
        • • • Is fleeing, or is attempting to flee, domestic violence; and
            • Has no other residence; and
            • Lacks the resources or support networks to obtain other permanent housing

"Domestic Violence" includes dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and other dangerous or life-threatening conditions that relate to violence against the individual or family member that either takes place in, or makes him or her afraid to return to, their primary nighttime residence (including human trafficking).

*Some restrictions and/or additional requirements may apply

*information and eligibility guidelines are subject to change as needed – please contact your local agency for more information