Community Counseling Services Transitional Housing Coordinator Brooke Minton provided the program Tuesday afternoon at Starkville Kiwanis about CCS's Transitional Housing Program.
Hinton said the Transitional Housing Program is designed to provide support to adults that are diagnosed with a serious mental illness, many of whom have not had the opportunity to live independently in their communities. These individuals would need a supportive environment with intensive services, and these apartments provide the least restrictive environment, while providing the necessary support services to assist the individuals with remaining in their community.
"When we take someone in from an inpatient facility or from the community, they work along side their treatment team to develop a transition plan of how they will go from one environment to a lesser restrictive environment," Hinton said. "They work as a part of their treatment team — it's not everyone else making the decisions for them."
Hinton said CCS offers supported living and independent living in the Transitional Housing Program Supported living is for individuals who have been recently discharged from inpatient hospitalization who need assistance with daily tasks such as taking medications, budgeting, maintaining a healthy living environment. These individuals have either not lived alone before or have been unsuccessful living alone in the past, and they are given the highest level of serves CCS offers and attend Psychosocial Rehabilitation five hours per day.
"This is for individuals who just had a hospitalization or have had multiple hospitalizations and need help managing their medication," Hinton said. "They are seeing psychiatrists and attending therapy so they basically need someone on the grounds with them at all times."
Independent living is for individuals who have experienced a period of stability without hospitalization, ,and can be either individuals who have transitioned out of supported living or those from the community. These individuals do not require help with medication or budgeting, but they continue to receive support from CCS and may continue with Psychosocial Rehabilitation. They may also be employed or return to school.
CCS has supported living locations at River Heights Apartments in Clay County and Church Street Apartments in Winton County that are both staffed 24/7. Independent living locations are at Broad Street Apartments and High Street Apartments in Clay County, Caprice Apartments in Lowndes County and some subleased apartments in The Grove Apartments in Oktibbeha County.
Hinton said the apartments are fully furnished and designed to feel like home to the residents. "This is better than putting them in a facility or an institution," Hinton said. "We don't want to put people in a hospital over and over again. It's expensive and it doesn't work. So this is our way of keeping that cycle from happening over and again."
Hinton said community inclusion can increase an individual's self worth, independence and value as contributing members of the community.
Some of the services provided to those in the transitional housing include individual therapy, group therapy, community support services and case management, psychosocial rehabilitation, psychiatric evaluations, medication management, targeted case management, nursing assessments, crisis services when necessary and supported employment.
Community Counseling Services CFO Richard Duggin said CCS offers other group homes and treatments for other mentally ill people serviced in their area.
"A lot of people get kind of scared when you say there are mentally ill people living out in the community, but one in four people are mentally ill," Duggin said.