Housing Resources
Housing Objectives
…we know that two of the most effective tools we have to help people recover from mental illness or addictions are a home and a job. –Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Independent housing vouchers represent a foundation of recovery and hope. To the greatest extent practicable, we empower consumers with tenant-based housing vouchers which enhance individual choice, independence, and control over where a person lives and what services (if any) such a person decides to receive. Systems of care are recognizing that access to safe, decent, and affordable housing is a medical necessity for many persons with disabilities. Independent housing vouchers: deliver real therapeutic value; promote consumer empowerment; support both civil and disability rights; and are demonstrated to be radically cost effective when compared to high cost, high intensity, institutionalized care. Such vouchers can be used in either the community or group settings—at the consumer’s discretion. These vouchers are a logical extension of the concept, Money Follows the Person in which the consumer directs their own care and in this case, their housing as well.
Basic Eligibility and Program Information for Housing Vouchers
* Bridging Rental Assistance Program (BRAP)
* Shelter Plus Care (SPC)
* Section 8 (aka Housing Choice Vouchers)
* Housing Quality Standards
* Fair Market Rents
Presentations and Publications—Best Practices
* Promoting Data Integration and Efficiency: Incorporating homelessness data from federal agencies, Centers for Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
* Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC)
* Q.A. with Sheldon Wheeler: Key Strategies to Prevent and End Homelessness
* Effectiveness of Permanent Supportive Housing in Maine (Adobe PDF*) (*free viewer)
* National Alliance to End Homelessness Issue Brief: Strategies of State Mental Health Agencies to Prevent and End Homelessness (Adobe PDF*) (*free viewer)
* Cost of Homelessness Benefit of Shelter Plus Care (Adobe PDF*) (*free viewer)
