In Florida, Mentally Ill Suffer Abuse And Neglect by Kenny Malone, National Public Radio

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Obama Administration Announces $749 Million to Fund Housing for Very Low-Income Seniors and Persons With Disabilities

The following press release comes from the Department of Housing and Urban Development:
Obama Administration Announces $749 Million to Fund Housing for Very Low-Income Seniors and Persons With Disabilities
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2011/HUDNo.11-266
WASHINGTON – Thousands more very low-income senior citizens and persons with disabilities will have access to affordable supportive housing thanks to $749 million in housing assistance announced today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These grants will help non-profit organizations produce accessible housing, offer rental assistance, and facilitate supportive services for the elderly and persons with disabilities.  
The grant funding awarded under HUD’s Sections 202 and 811 Supportive Housing programs will kick start construction or major rehabilitation on more than 189 housing developments in 41 different states and Puerto Rico. When complete, more than 4,800 elderly households and persons with disabilities will be affordably housed with access to needed services. Read a detailed summary of each grant.
“The Obama Administration is committed to helping our senior citizens and persons with disabilities find an affordable place to live that is close to needed healthcare services and transportation,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.  “Recent bipartisan changes to these two supportive housing programs will allow us to better serve some of our more vulnerable populations who would otherwise be struggling to find a safe and decent home of their own.”
Enacted early this year with strong bipartisan support, the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act and the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Act provided needed enhancements and reforms to both programs. Nonprofit grant recipients will now receive federal assistance that is better connected to state and local health care investments, allowing greater numbers of vulnerable elderly and disabled individuals to access the housing they need even more quickly.
Section 202 Capital Advances will provide $545 million nationwide to 97 projects in 42 States and Puerto. In addition to funding the construction, acquisition, and rehabilitation of multifamily developments, HUD’s Section 202 program will also provide $54 million in rental assistance so that residents only pay 30 percent of their adjusted incomes. Section 202 provides very low-income elderly persons 62 years of age or older with the opportunity to live independently in an environment that provides support services to meet their unique needs (see attached funding chart).
Section 811 Capital Advances will provide $137 million nationwide to assist very low-income persons with disabilities through 92 projects in 35 states. An additional $12.6 million will be available for project rental assistance contracts (see attached funding chart).  Most of the housing supported through the Section 811 Program will be newly constructed, typically small apartment buildings, group homes for three to four persons, or condominium units that are integrated into the larger community. Residents will pay 30 percent of their adjusted income for rent and the federal government will pay the rest.
HUD’s Section 811 program provides housing for households with one or more very low-income individuals with a disability. Under this program at least one person must be 18 years or older and have a physical or developmental disability or chronic mental illness. The program provides persons with disabilities the opportunity to live independently in their communities by increasing the supply of rental housing with the availability of supportive services.
HUD provides these funds to non-profit organizations in two forms:
           
  * Capital Advances. This is funding that covers the cost of developing, acquiring, or rehabilitating the development. Repayment is not required as long as the housing remains available for occupancy by very low-income elderly persons for at least 40 years for (under Section 202) or very low-income persons with disabilities (under Section 811).
  * Project Rental Assistance Contracts. This is funding that goes to each development to cover the difference between the residents’ contributions toward rent and the cost of operating the project.
Residents must be “very low income” with household incomes less than 50 percent of their median for that area. However, most households that receive Section 811 or Section 202 assistance earn less than 30 percent of the median for their area. Generally, this means that a one-person household will have an annual income of about $13,500.
You may view a table with the grant awards at the following link: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2011/HUDNo.11-266
HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and  transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and http://espanol.hud.gov.

Advocates: State's mental health system improving, but gaps exist by Misty Williams, AJC November 11, 2011

Georgia Recovery Initiative Announcement

Community Listening Sessions
When:      November 30, 2011 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Where:    Decatur Public Library 215 Sycamore Street Decatur, GA 30030

The Georgia Recovery Initiative Steering Committee will be holding the first of a series of Community Listening Sessions on envisioning a Recovery Oriented System of Services and Supports in Behavioral Health and Addictive Diseases. We want to hear from you how you envision recovery and how a system that embodies and practices recovery would look.

The Georgia Recovery Initiative Steering Committee consists of Advocates, Consumers, Providers, and members of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse. Members of the GRI steering Committee will be present to listen and also to answer any questions about this initiative. The GRI is working on developing a strategy for designing, transforming, and implementing a Recovery Oriented System of Behavioral Health services and supports. This work recognizes and affirms the central role of the voices of those who use and depend on the services provided by DBHDD. The consumer voice, the voice of lived experience is the keystone to effective and comprehensive system change.

Please come on November 30 so that your voice can be listened to as we begin this work of system transformation.

The Community Listening Session is free and open to the public; we would appreciate your registering in advance if you plan to attend.

Call 800-297-6146 or 404-687-9487 if you plan attend

Refreshments will be provided.

You may also call Mark Baker, CPS, Director of Advocacy, DBHDD

at 404-803-1097 with further questions.

New York Times Articles on Living with Schizophrenia

Here is a recent article in a series by the New York Times on living with schizophrenia:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/health/23lives.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1