Housing And Support Services For People With Severe Mental Illness (SMI), Including Substance Use

Basic housing needs are particularly important for people with mental illness.  A lack of safe, secure, affordable housing has been shown to have negative effects on both physical and mental health, resulting in increased need for and use of emergency, treatment, and support services.  Research and field experience have demonstrated that adequate, appropriate housing is often an essential ingredient to help people with mental illness move forward toward recovery.  Stable housing is a basic necessity in order for people to manage their mental illness, reduce the need for treatment and support services, and generally improve quality of life.

This project is to obtain best estimates of the present housing capacity and unmet needs of people with severe mental illness (SMI), including substance use, who functionally require safe, secure and affordable housing and support services and to include a review of best practices in the area of supported housing for people with SMI, including cost estimates.