Community Access Inc

Programs: Housing - community access works to ensure that low-income people with psychiatric disabilities and working families can have access to quality, affordable housing and support services. We provide supportive housing to over 1,000 individuals and families at 20 buildings in manhattan, brooklyn and the bronx, and we lease additional scattered-site units throughout the city. Our tenants are some of new york's most vulnerable - including people with histories of homelessness, veterans, people living with hiv/aids and youth aging out of foster care. We also provide on-site staffing and property management services in partnership with other agencies. Typically, in our permanent supportive housing units, 60% of tenants are individuals living with mental health conditions and the remaining 40% are low-income individuals and families. This model has proven highly successful in promoting community integration. We know that people living with mental health concerns can become members of a community, not defined by their diagnoses, but rather viewed as neighbors and friends. Tenants attest that this mixed model of housing greatly reduces the stigma they have previously felt.

training & education - community access has transformed the lives of thousands of low-income new yorkers with psychiatric disabilities through training and education. Our core philosophy is that, with the right support, individuals can recover from mental illness and live independently in the community, instead of cycling through costly institutional settings. We believe the system of care will only fundamentally change when majorities of the people delivering the care are former users of services. For this reason we have set a target to have at least 51% of our staff have a lived experience in the mental health system. For some of our signature programs, the percentage of peer-identified staff now exceeds 90%. In 1995, community access introduced a model for job training and placement of individuals with a history of mental illness, homelessness, substance use, and incarceration. With approximately 1,000 graduates to date, our howie the harp advocacy center (hth) provides opportunities for peers to develop the skills and knowledge they need to find jobs in health and human services. The center's training curriculum and methods are unequalled in u. S. And have helped hundreds of people secure well-paying jobs in hospitals, clinics, and community-based agencies. Blueprint supported education helps individuals living with mental illness to pursue post-secondary education. Community access also operates the art collective, which uses art as healing tool for helping people recover from psychiatric disabilities; and pet access, a popular pet adoption program which promotes the therapeutic benefits of pet ownership.

other programs - treatment services, alternatives to hospitalization & crisis intervention - at east village access (eva), community access offers curriculum-based, structured opportunities for adults living with mental illness to become knowledgeable about recovery, employment, housing, life skills, and social opportunities. Using personalized recovery oriented services (pros), the program helps participants identify their strengths, overcome barriers, and build skills for goal-setting, growth, recovery and self-directed living. Eva has worked with more than 800 people to date. In january 2013, community access opened a crisis respite center (crc), new york city's first alternative to hospitalization program for individuals experiencing an emotional crisis. This ground-breaking initiative provides an array of services including: peer support, wellness self-management, self-help training, and linkage to medical and psychiatric supports. To date, the crc has helped more than 500 people move through emotional crises.