Recovery connections, a program of community alliance, provided in partnership with stephen center intends to reduce homelessness and negative outcomes for adults with serious mental illness (SMI),…

Recovery connections, a program of community alliance, provided in partnership with stephen center intends to reduce homelessness and negative outcomes for adults with serious mental illness (SMI), substance use disorders (SUD) or CO-occurring SMI/SUD who are experiencing homelessness. Through a team-based approach with strong outreach, clients will be linked to evidence-based practices to gain housing, obtain treatment, and further their recovery. Recovery connections staff will provide a core set of evidence-based practices (ebps) including critical time intervention, permanent supportive housing, integrated dual disorder treatment, motivational interviewing, and seeking safety, and will also serve as a hub by connecting people to community alliance's other ebps, such as assertive community treatment and supported employment, as needed. The primary goals and measurable objectives of the project are to: 1) expand access to integrated housing and supportive services: by end of year one, we will outreach to at least 80 people on the street and in shelters and use an sbirt framework and tools to screen them for program eligibility. We will enroll at least 30 people by end of year one. 2) improve housing stability among participants: a) we will link at least 80% of participants to permanent housing within one year of program enrollment; b) after accessing housing, 70% of participants will remain stably housed twelve months later; and c) 60% of participants will remain stably housed after 24 months. 3) reduce substance use among participants: a) 40% of participants with suds at baseline will reduce substance use from intake to six months of project participation; and b) by six months, at least 50% of all participants with an SUD will engage in substance use disorder treatment or iddt (if they have a CO-occurring mental illness). 4) increase access to outpatient behavioral health treatment: a) 80% of participants will receive psychiatric assessment and treatment; b) after six months of treatment, 50% will demonstrate clinically significant improvement in behavioral health symptomology; c) 80% of participants will engage in recovery-oriented case management services during project participation. 5) increase medicaid, medicare, other health insurance, SSI, ssdi, and snap enrollment: a) 60% of participants who have been enrolled in the project for at least six months will be receiving benefits (e.g., SSI/ssdi, tanf, snap) or have other stable income; b) 90% of participants who have been enrolled in the project for at least 12 months will have sustained benefits or other stable income; and c) 90% of participants who have been enrolled in the project for at least 12 months and who are eligible will be enrolled in medicaid. The service area is douglas and sarpy counties. The project will serve 30 individuals in year 1, and another 40 individuals each year for the subsequent project years, totaling 190 participants over the course of the five-year project.