New South Wales Housing and Support Initiative

1. New South Wales Housing and Support Initiative

2. Neami’s Mission Improving mental health and wellbeing in local communities

3. Neami A specialist psycho-social rehabilitation service with a strong belief in consumers recovery process.

4. Recovery “A deeply personal, unique process of changing one’s attitudes, values, feelings, goals, skills, and or roles. It is a way of living a satisfying, hopeful and contributing life. Recovery involves the development of new meaning and purpose in one’s life as one grows beyond the catastrophic events of mental illness,” (p. 11, Australian Mental Health Ministers, 2003).

5. Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI) 3 way partnership: • Area Mental Health – funds and provides clinical support • NEAMI – provider of accommodation support • Community Housing providers – Housing provider and tenancy management

7. Project Goals • Unblock acute beds and reduce need for admission by providing community based support • Address housing and accommodation support issues in a sustainable way • Maintain and improve the functional status and mental health of people with high support needs • Allow improvements in community participation for people with high support needs through system change

8. Service Model • Long term housing provided by community housing providers or support to people living in Public Housing • Targeted support to individuals • Outreach clinical care and rehab provided by mental health staff • Provision of accommodation support within psychosocial rehab framework by NEAMI

9. Process • Consumer involved in decision making, case meetings and being always informed • Promoting hope and recovery • Communication with all of the individuals and services involved in the life of the consumer on a regular basis • Clearly defined roles and responsibilities for all of the parties. • Maintaining partnerships is ongoing and the responsibility of all.

10. Consumer Neami: Rehabilitation & Support Case Manager: Clinical Support Community Housing Provider

11. HASI 1 &3A - (High Need) • Consumers residing in Acute and sub-acute inpatient beds because of difficulties accessing high level accommodation support or • Have a history of frequent hospitalisations • Homeless or at risk of homelessness or inappropriately housed • Have the ability and desire to live in community • Are unlikely to be able to maintain a mainstream tenancy agreement • May require up to 5 hours per day support

12. HASI 1 & 3A • 16 to 65 years • Diagnosed with a mental disorder and moderate to severe level of psychiatric disability • Have complex needs i.e. co-morbidity • Not in acute phase of illness requiring inpatient care • Capable of benefiting from provision of rehabilitation and disability support services • Capable of informed consent to participate in the program • Have a case manager or be eligible for case management at the area mental health service

13. HASI 2 (Low Need) People with current mental health problems who would benefit from 1 visit per week or 1 to 2 visits per month.

14. HASI 2 • Are able to give informed consent to participate in the program; • Are from 16 years of age upwards until frailty is determined to inhibit ongoing involvement in the program; • Are accommodated in public or community housing; • Are diagnosed with a mental illness; or in the case of a young person where formal diagnosis is absent, functional impairment has been identified by a mental health professional; • Have low levels of psychiatric disability; • Have a high level of functioning most of the time; • Have the capacity to benefit from the provision of disability and rehabilitation support services; • Have a case manager at the Area Mental Health Service

15. HASI 3B - (Very High Need) • Consumers residing in Acute and sub-acute inpatient beds because of difficulties accessing high level accommodation support or • Have a history of frequent hospitalisations • Homeless or at risk of homelessness or inappropriately housed • Have the ability and desire to live in community • Are unlikely to be able to maintain a mainstream tenancy agreement • May require up to 8 hours per day support

16. 16 to 65 years • Diagnosed with a mental disorder and severe level of psychiatric disability • Have complex needs i.e. co-morbidity • Not in acute phase of illness requiring inpatient care • Capable of benefiting from provision of rehabilitation and disability support services • Capable of informed consent to participate in the program

17. 2 year evaluation Social Policy and Research Centre - UNSW

18. Outcomes • 80% reduction in hospital bed stay days • 66% consumers reported an increase in their mental health • 46% of consumers with identified substance use issues were no longer experiencing substance use issues

19. Outcomes • On entry 23% reported not having any friends, reduced to 6% over 2 years • Majority of consumers reported an increase in connectedness with their community • Global Assessment of Functioning - mean score shifted from 38, indicating ‘serious impairment’ to 65, signifying ‘generally functioning pretty well’

20. Outcomes • On average consumers increased their level of independence across all 14 areas of living skills; exercise, diet, transport, banking, cooking, laundry, shopping, medication, cleaning, budgeting, accessing community services, making appointments, dressing and bathing/showering

21. Neami in SESIAHS • 5 Service sites - Darlinghurst (HASI 2 ,3a &3b) - Pagewood (HASI 2, 3a & 3b) - Hurstville (HASI 1 & 2) - Wollongong (HASI 1 & 2) - Nowra (HASI 3a)