Wellness Goes to Washington
Written by Marc D. Kutner, MSW, MPA, Director of Research and Development
Funded by two five-year grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), SUS is privileged to be among 75 organizations nationwide awarded nearly $124.5 million to fund innovation in mental health and substance abuse treatment to formerly homeless people. Toward fostering information sharing and learning on the national level, SUS senior management and program staff are participating in two SAMHSA Annual Grantee Meetings in Washington, D.C. this month. Participation in these key Center for Mental Health Services and Center for Substance Abuse Treatment meetings keeps our programs attuned to the best emerging and evidence-based practices the field has to offer.
SUS was founded on the belief that people living with significant disabilities can live successfully in the community given the right supports. When consumers with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse or health problems come to live in our supportive housing, emerging from homelessness or re-entering the community from prison or jail, they confront the many challenges of community life simultaneously. At this critical moment in time, added strengths – such as patience, perseverance, social skill and organization – are required to navigate multiple community-based service systems. Too often however, consumers encounter a fragmented service system that can overwhelm even the most motivated and engaged person This often leads to withdrawal from needed treatment which is a certain path to crisis in mental and physical health, and return to the ER, hospital or correctional facility.
Drawing on our 32 years of experience with clinically complex, often multiply-diagnosed individuals living with serious mental illness, HIV/AIDS, and other health challenges, we’ve successfully implemented Wellness Works in our Mental Health and People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWA) divisions, a new model of care developed by SUS that promotes health and independence among previously chronically homeless persons diagnosed with mental illness (or co-occurring substance abuse and mental illness) who have, or are at risk of, serious medical conditions or illnesses, by providing integrated mental health and substance abuse treatment, a range of lifestyle interventions, and coordinated medical health care.
Existing case management services in our supportive and transitional housing has been expanded and enhanced by the application of Wellness Self-Management, Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT), chronic disease management protocols, peer support and nutritional, lifestyle, and smoking cessation interventions. These enhancements make it possible to address and coordinate mental health and substance abuse treatment care, primary health care, and lifestyle factors (smoking, nutrition, physical activity, sexual activity, etc.)-to improve the quality of people’ lives, increase their life expectancy, assure their stability in housing, and to help them reach their recovery goals. Wellness Works offers not only a comprehensive, coordinated treatment approach; the program characterizes the SUS belief in human ability where strengths are capitalized upon and the right services, enabling fulfilling, healthy lives in the community, are made available.