News at a Glance
Ending Homelessness One Person at a Time
Tom* was staying in
a shelter and struggling with severe and persistent mental illness.
Until recently, finding permanent housing and improving his situation
would have taken months – and maybe years – to
address. But a new program, Project Homeless Connect, is changing
the landscape and bringing hope to many homeless people like Tom.
Project Homeless Connect hosts events where volunteers and service
providers come together to provide a one-stop shop to meet the
needs of homeless people.
At a Homeless Connect
event in March, Tom met a housing provider who specialized in helping
people just like him. They sat down, talked and decided that Tom
was a good fit for having an apartment but he needed a mental health
evaluation and a doctor to agree that Tom could manage the apartment
by himself. Tom and the housing provider simply walked across the
room where Tom got his evaluation and a doctor’s authorization.
That night, for the first time in a very long time, Tom slept is
his own room
Without Project Homeless
Connect, this scenario would have involved Tom’s going to various locations to get needed documentation
or signatures – feats which are sometimes overwhelming to people
already in crisis. “The importance of Project Homeless Connect
is that people don’t have to go all over town to get the services
they need and constantly retell their story,” said Cathy ten
Broeke, the Hennepin County-City of Minneapolis coordinator to End
Homelessness. “They can simply come to one location. “When
we make the path to independence simpler for people in crisis there
are at least two good outcomes. People like Tom, who can live more
independently rather in a government-sponsored shelter, benefit.
And government gets better results when people in need are helped
in a way that they themselves can sustain,” she said.
Services offered at
Project Homeless Connect include housing, employment, medical care,
dental care, mental health care, benefits and legal assistance,
eye doctors, haircuts, transportation assistance, food, and clothing.
Nearly 2,000 homeless people received services at the first two
Homeless Connect events, thanks to approximately 750 volunteers
and more than 200 service providers. The third event took place
earlier this month. ![]()
For further information on
Project Homeless Connect, go to www.homelessconnectminneapolis.org or
call 612-673-2525
[Source: Hennepin County News]
*Tom is a pseudonym
NAMI’s
Professional of the Year: Amy Rice
The National Alliance on Mental
Illness of Minnesota (NAMI-MN) presented Amy Rice of Spectrum Community
Mental Health Center with its Professional of the Year Award at its
Annual Conference, held Nov. 4 in Bloomington. Rice was recognized
for her outstanding efforts to create a program where adults with
mental illness can learn and develop their visual art skills. ![]()
[Source:
NAMI-MN]
Volunteer Greeters Sought
Volunteers
needed to provide general assistance and information to visitors
of the Ramsey County Government Center East. Volunteers must be at
least 18 years of age. Contact Ramsey County Community Human Services—Volunteer
Services at 651-266-4090 for additional information or e-mail to
volunteerservices@co.ramsey.mn.us ![]()
[Source:
Ramsey County]
Tax-Forfeited
House Becomes Community-Living Option
An abandoned property at 3216
Garfield Ave. S. in the Lyndale Neighborhood in south Minneapolis,
rehabilitated through the county’s Tax-Forfeited
Property Program, soon will become home for four people with disabilities.
The board approved a rental agreement for the property with Culture
Homes Inc, a licensed adult foster-care provider for the county that
provides housing and culturally specific services for Somali men
with mental health needs.
Hennepin County has hundreds of clients living in nursing homes,
and faces challenges under a Supreme Count decision that requires
counties to find community-based housing for those who can live under
less extensive care. Using tax-forfeited properties to provide services
for clients is part of a larger collaboration with the state of Minnesota;
Hennepin County Human Services and Public Heath; and Hennepin Housing,
Community Works and Transit.
This is the third county tax-forfeited
property that has found a second life as a residence for home care,
and more are planned. Remodeling tax-forfeited homes for housing
is less expensive than long-term care in a nursing home, and provides
residents with more opportunities for independence and self-reliance. ![]()
[Source:
Hennepin County Board]
Program Will Integrate
Health Care,
Social Services for Disabled
The Hennepin County Board
approved $375,000 to design and develop an Integrated Care Initiative
that weaves together health care and social services for people with
disabilities.
Under state and federal policies,
counties are moving people who are disabled and on Medical Assistance
to managed care in order to improve health care access and control
costs. However, to live successfully in the community, people who
are disabled may need social service supports, such as help with
housing. Hennepin’s initiative
would link health care services of the Metropolitan Health Plan with
the social services of the county’s Human Services and the
Public Health Department, providing a more seamless system for clients. ![]()
[Source:
Hennepin County News]
Participants Needed for Youth
Internet Study
The Children’s Partnership
(TCP) is collecting first-hand accounts of how digital technologies
are helping youth with disabilities in school, at home, at work and
in their communities. These stories will be featured in the next
issue of their publication, Digital Opportunity for Youth., which
will focus on how broadband-enabled technologies help youth with
disabilities to lead active, healthy lives.
TCP is a public policy
and advocacy organization that focuses on children’s issues
involving technology and health. They share their publications
with policymakers, advocates and other decision makers, hoping
to make stronger arguments for increased technology access. ![]()
To share a story, please contact
Jessica Rothschuh at 310-260-1220 or jrothschuh@childrenspartnership.org
[Source: www.childrenspartnership.org]
Give a Little Time, Get a
Lot in Return
It only takes a few hours
a month to make a huge difference in the life of an adult who experiences
depression, anxiety or another psychiatric disability. Being a friendship
volunteer helps your new friend stay active, improve their health
and fulfill their dreams. And the best part is, you’ll not
only see what it does for them, you’ll feel what it does for
you. A variety of volunteer positions are available. ![]()
FFI: Volunteer Coordinator
at Guild Incorporated, 651-457-2248 ext. 36, volunteer@guildincorporated.org,
or www.guildincorporated.org
[Source:
Guild Inc.]
Hennepin, Minneapolis
Schools Partner to Provide Mental Health Services for Kids
The Hennepin
County board approved continuing to partner with the Minneapolis
Public Schools in the children’s mental health
component of the federally-funded Safe Schools/Healthy Students pilot
program.
The pilot program is
currently in kindergarten through eighth grade at seven Minneapolis
school sites. About 150 teachers have participated in training
about children’s mental health, and almost 350
students have been referred to the school-based mental health clinician.
Of those referrals, about 286 students received mental health services.
The school district
will reimburse the county $45,000 for mental health coordinator
services provided by a senior clinical psychologist from the mental
health center. The psychologist coordinates mental health services
for Safe Schools/Healthy Students, including screening of students,
training staff about children’s mental health,
research and evaluation of the pilot, and coordinating services through
school and community resources. ![]()
[Source:
Hennepin County Board]
Share
Your Love of Science!
Volunteer at the Bakken Museum
Looking
for a way to give back this season? The Bakken Museum of Minneapolis
needs volunteers who enjoy science to help provide a truly electrifying
experience for visitors of all ages. Adults can choose from a variety
of assignments, shift options and commitment levels. Youths and
teens under age 16 can volunteer with adult. People with disabilities
encouraged to apply; the museum is accessible.
Volunteers can enhance visitor experiences through storytelling
and demonstrations as a Tour Guide; explain exhibits and interactive
activities as an Exhibit Interpreter; facilitate and encourage exploration,
play and problem solving as a Family Science Saturday Activity Assistant;
and more. ![]()
FFI: www.thebakken.org or
call 612-926-3878.
[Source: Bakken Museum]
Part D Plans: Still Time
to Change
Just when we thought we were
all set, it’s time to
check and see if we should stay with the same Medicare Part D plan
or change to another plan. From November 15, 2006 to December
31, 2006, people who are currently on Medicare Part D plans are in
an open enrollment period. Insurance premiums on all the plans
are likely to change, in many cases, increase, for 2007. The
plan that was best for you this year may not be best next year. It
is necessary for people on Medicare Part D plans to check their coverage,
to see if another plan will cover their drugs more cheaply next year,
or, even, to make sure the same medications they have in 2006 will
be covered by the plan in 2007. It’s fairly easy to compare
drug plans. There are several computer tools to help. You
can go to www.medicare.gov. For more claimant-centered assistance,
you can go to www.medicarerights.org, or www.aarp.org. If you have
a disability, you can get an appointment through the Disability Linkage
Line: 1-866-333-2466. The Linkage Line is located
at the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living, MCIL, at 1600
University Avenue in St. Paul.
You can find other resources
to help compare medical plans through senior centers or assisted
living facilities. Just be sure
to avail yourself of the opportunity to check your current plan to
see if it’s still the best plan for you. If it is, you
need do nothing. Your coverage will continue under that plan. If
you need to change plans, you must complete that process by December
31, 2006. ![]()
[Source:
Kathy Hagen, Staff Attorney, Minnesota Disability Law Center]
