Summary Of Mr. Zazzarino's Lecture On Supportive Housing

I found Mr. Zazzarino’s lecture on Supportive Housing: Community Support Services to be very interesting and informative. Within his first 15 minutes of the lecture, he explained the former discharge process that had been historically utilized and which unfortunately is still used here in Northeast Pennsylvania. He further explained how when individuals were ready for discharge they would have to enter or re-enter a 24-hour group home setting. Part of my job is to attend discharge meetings and there have been numerous occasions where an individual requests to be placed into their own apartment in the community, but they are denied or persuaded to enter into a group home. Normally, they are denied this opportunity for two reasons: 1) the
psychiatrist insists they move into a group home or they won’t be discharged or 2) housing applications are not initiated until a week or two prior to discharge. Mr. Zazzarino spoke of the latter reason and further explained that the necessity for discharge planning is to begin after the first week of hospitalization, not a few weeks before discharge. I feel that the state hospital that I work closely with has begun to embrace supportive housing, but often lacks the planning to implement a success community transition. As I mentioned earlier, housing applications are delayed and supportive services are not initiated until an individual is close to discharge.
What have you seen change actually take place? Why did it succeed?
One the changes that has been taking place in the agency that I work for is the initiation of intensive supportive living. Our intensive supportive living staff provide services to individuals who reside in group homes and are interested in moving into their own apartment. I feel that this has been successful for several reasons. Firstly, staff is able to develop a trusting relationship with the individual over an extended period of time. Secondly, they are able to work with the individual to assess different living situations and to assist the individual with familiarizing themselves with the community. For example, do they have access to busing, grocery stores, etc. Lastly, our community support specialist work closely with local housing authorities and often have the ability to expedite this process. Overall, we have noted a smoother transition in the community and a higher success rate for those individuals who utilize this service.