Supportive Housing for Homeless Adults with Serious Mental Illness: How Does It Work?-View Presentation Slides

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The webinar titled "Supported Housing for Adults with Serious Mental Illness: How Does it Work?" presented by the American Psychiatric Association in 2020, emphasized the benefits and limitations of supported housing initiatives for homeless adults with severe mental illness. Dr. Robert Rosenheck, a Professor of Psychiatry and Health Policy at Yale School of Medicine, defined supported housing as a model integrating case management with rent subsidies to move individuals out of homelessness, offering a powerful redistributive service model.<br /><br />The webinar highlighted learning objectives, including identifying clinical components, evaluating effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, and adapting approaches for social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Supported housing involves various models like Supported Housing, Supportive Housing, and Housing First, which prioritize housing as a basic right and emphasize the harm-reduction approach allowing ongoing substance use.<br /><br />The presentation included research findings from studies like the HUD-VASH program, which offered observed data on outcomes including reduction in homelessness, though with limited evidence on improving physical health or mortality rates. Data illustrated that while supported housing helped move people out of homelessness, it did not significantly impact their health outcomes, despite increasing costs. The experimental studies consistently showed that supported housing participants experienced significantly more days housed compared to those in standard care.<br /><br />The session also addressed the socio-economic dynamics of homelessness, the medicalization of homelessness in response to political climates, and social determinants influencing mental health. Additionally, practical implications for the efficacy and operation of supported housing in the pandemic era, along with the moral and practical questions about whether housing should be a right, were discussed.<br /><br />Finally, participants were informed about continuing education credits, Q&A sessions, future webinars, and additional resources available through SMIadviser.org.

Keywords

Supported Housing

Serious Mental Illness

Homelessness

American Psychiatric Association

COVID-19

Housing First

HUD-VASH program

Socio-economic dynamics

Mental Health

SMIadviser.org