Grant Proposal

Northwestern Medicine Community Benefit Grant Program Application Proposal Project Title* Mental Healthcare for Housing Sustainability Organization Overview (500 word limit). Provide any relevant information about your organization, including, but not limited to: history, leadership, community served, population served, key tenets, values, initiatives, number of people served annually, etc. * PADS Lake County is a community-based organization that provides trauma-informed support, resources, and shelter to individuals and families experiencing a housing crisis. We envision a community in which homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring; one in which anyone who may experience a housing crisis has timely access to the proper resources and services based on their individual needs. Our goal is to help end homelessness and ensure happy, healthy, and safe lives for at-risk individuals and families in Lake County. We offer a comprehensive approach to addressing homelessness, ensuring that our services are provided with compassion and respect. Since 1972, PADS has served as a reliable and trusted community partner, unwavering in its commitment to provide high-quality and timely services to the neediest among our neighbors – individuals and families that are experiencing homelessness in Lake County. PADS is the first point of contact and the ONLY night-by-night emergency shelter for people experiencing homelessness in Lake County. When faced with several challenging life events, not all people have the capacity or resources to maintain their housing and find themselves unsheltered. Once they come to PADS, they receive the immediate shelter they need to stay safe and warm and receive comprehensive resources to get out of homelessness and back into housing. Our primary focus areas are addressing chronic homelessness and repeated episodic homelessness, which mostly results from poverty, lack of education, lack of job opportunities, and lack of access to mental health services. Daily, the PADS team is committed to ensure that everyone who comes to our doors, and who are caught in the cycle of homelessness, receives the lifesaving support they need to thrive, to re-build their lives, to reclaim their dignity and respect, and become contributing members of our communities. PADS is overseen by a volunteer Board of Directors, which hires and oversees an Executive Director. The Executive Director provides administration and management of the day-to-day affairs of the organization. The Executive Director oversees three departments (Programs & Services; Development; and Finance & Administration) each led by a director. There are other managers for specific programs depending on their size and scope. PADS serves individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of falling into homelessness in Lake County. At any given time, there are approximately 600 people experiencing homelessness in Lake County - half are male, and half are female; 80-100 of these individuals are children. PADS currently serves a population that is approximately 66% Black, 27% white non-Latino, and 12% Latino/Hispanic clients, with the other 6% comprised of other/mixed races. Approximately 6% of the clients we serve are people over 62 years old, as affordable housing options for the elderly become scarcer. In the past year, PADS is proud to have served over 1,789 people, with: 408 people moving into permanent housing, 737 receiving individual accommodations, 45 families (and 210 children) receiving housing, 588 people assisted in retaining their home, and 125 people living outdoors engaged through outreach. Proposal Overview (200 word limit)* Individuals who experience homelessness because of a mental illness make up a significant portion of the overall homeless population (roughly 45%, according to HUD). Furthermore, because of their higher needs, they consume a greater proportion of resources than they represent in the population. To meet the needs of the homeless community in Lake County, PADS created a comprehensive program referred to as Mental Healthcare for Housing Sustainability (MHHS). In this program, clients work with clinical professionals and other licensed individuals who can help them address their mental health challenges. A team of staff participate in the program to work with those whose barriers to getting into housing are related to mental health, and thus more complex. PADS is a firm advocate of the “Housing First” model of service: putting individuals into housing as a first step before addressing any behavioral health issues. The MHHS program also includes many of our Case Managers working with clients outside of the Supportive Housing program. This primarily includes counseling, crisis management, and connecting individuals to other important community resources that are crucial in the long-term management of their mental health. To move people experiencing homelessness as a result of mental illness into housing, their mental health issues need to be treated and managed to the extent that we are able. The MHHS program is essential to making this a reality. Proposal Goal (200 word limit)* PADS focuses on three primary goals with this program: ● Increase the percentage of individuals in both shelter and supportive housing who are willing to accept behavioral health services. ● Increase the percentage of individuals receiving medication who need and are willing to receive medication related to mental illness. ● Increase the percentage of individuals with severe and persistent mental illness who enter and stay in housing. ,--- Key Components (200 word limit)* The activities within the Mental Healthcare for Housing Sustainability will be the following: ● Meet with clients to initiate the process of determining the status of their mental health ● Assist clients in getting behavioral health treatment, either internally through licensed clinical staff or externally through access to community resources or both ● Provide clients with additional community resources that will aid in their treatment ● Follow up with clients on the treatment plan received from a medical professional ● Provide access to properly qualified personnel on staff ● Provide crisis intervention to clients on as needed basis ● Accurate and consistent case management ● Assistance in dealing with mental illness, including diagnosis, symptoms, medication and side effects, “red flags,” how to get help when they need it, and how to gain peer support On-going support is available for more high-needs clients, once housed through our supportive housing and other program, to assure they can remain stable in housing. Flexibility and highly individualized treatment are at the foundation of the program, with the team focusing on the early stages of treatment: engagement, persuasion, and motivation building with the goal of moving clients to actively engaging in traditional treatment and abstinence-oriented behaviors. Community Health Need (select all that apply)* Access to Health Care and Community Resources Behavioral Health, Substance Use Disorder Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Care Chronic Disease Employment and Youth Development Food Access and Security Nutrition, Physical Activity and Weight Older Adults,Aging Promoting Independence and Activity Promoting Wellness and Preventing Disease Social Determinants of Health Violence Prevention, Community Safety Other: For more information on community health needs please visit the NM Community Health Needs Community Need. Describe how your proposal will address selected community need. Elaborate on how you will address community need(s) selected above (200 word limit).* According to SAMHSA, mental illness is the third largest cause of homelessness. Life on the streets can exacerbate or even cause high rates of behavioral health problems. Community mental health centers are chronically underfunded and are often on the budget-cutting chopping block. This is particularly true in Illinois where state funding is consistently precarious. The most recent findings from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health show just Mental Illness among adults continues to increase, “among adults aged 18 or older, the percentage who had any mental illness (AMI) in the past year increased from 17.7 percent in 2008 to 25 percent in 2021. Over that same period, the percentage who had serious mental illness (SMI) in the past year increased from 3.7 percent to 5.6 percent.” In Lake County, individuals with mental illness and substance abuse issues make up roughly 10% of the homeless population. However, they use nearly 50% of all community resources. The closing of community mental health care facilities has forced many more Lake County residents into homelessness, jails, or hospital emergency rooms. With such limited access to crucial psychiatric care and treatment, Lake County’s mentally ill homeless population has virtually nowhere to turn. Population to be Served. Elaborate on whom your proposal will serve. (200 word limit).* PADS mission focuses on families and individuals who are experiencing homelessness in Lake County. Within this group are individuals who are dealing with a behavioral health issue that has either gone undiagnosed, underdiagnosed or the follow-through has not been correctly implemented. These are the individuals that the Mental Healthcare for Housing Sustainability program seeks to assist. Recently, PADS has gotten more data about the homeless population through its Coordinated Entry System in cooperation with the Lake County Coalition for the Homeless. Through that listing of individuals, we see a number of persons who are living with mental illness that either caused or has prolonged their homelessness. That data is constantly evolving with each new assessment, and we continue to monitor to determine if there is any ability to identify trends. We are seeing an increase in overall mental health concerns with clients due to the current pandemic; we have documented a 6% increase in clients with mental health concerns during the first 12 months of the pandemic. Number of People to be Served. Enter the total number of people who will be served.* 800 Outcomes Assessment. ls your proposal evidence-based and/or have you previously implemented the program(s) you are proposing? If yes, share outcomes (200 word limit).* PADS uses several evidence-based practices in its work. They include: ● Motivational Interviewing - A method that works on facilitating and engaging intrinsic motivation within the client to change behavior. Motivational Interviewing is a goal-oriented, client-centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence. All PADS’ Case Managers are trained in motivational interviewing techniques, including the HHAP Case Manager. ● Harm Reduction - PADS implements harm reduction practices by having a high tolerance for perceived negative behaviors, both legal and illegal, that may have harmful consequences, and works to reduce those harms. ● Trauma-Informed Care - PADS approach to services focuses on how trauma may affect an individual’s life and his or her response to services. Homelessness is a traumatic experience, and we look to avoid exacerbating that trauma. ● Housing First - PADS believes in getting people into housing first, and then addressing their other concerns/challenges. Measurable Outcomes. List proposal(s)'s measurable outcomes (Ex: new knowledge gained, increased skills learned, change in attitudes, modified behavior, improved lifestyle choice, etc.), Evaluation Method (Ex: surveys, pre- and post-tests, changes in health indicators, etc.) and data tracked (200 word limit).* Note: Both a progress update and a final stewardship report are required summarizing progress towards goals, tracked outcomes, etc. 30% of clients who are identified as needing mental health services will have a reduction in mental health symptoms resulting in them existing shelter into permanent housing. Organization Capacity and Sustainability. Does your organization have the capacity to implement the proposal? How will you sustain the proposal in the future (200 word limit)? * Strengthening our financial health continues to be one of our strategic priorities. By exploring a wide range of funding opportunities and forging new partnerships, we will remain resilient and focused on our work and mission to serve vulnerable and at-risk populations in Lake County. The pandemic has highlighted the ever pressing need to diversify our revenue streams and build intentional connections with donors and funders. In the past years, we worked with many of our funder-partners to switch program funding to general operating support, allowing us the flexibility to provide vital and high-quality services essential during these critical times. Considering the ever-changing funding landscape, we have instituted key pivots in in our fundraising strategy aimed to strengthen our donor-centered approach amid challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic. On a consistent basis, PADS continues to work hard to ensure that our grants portfolio is robust and healthy; and that priority is given to continuously build relationships and engage with new and potential funders/partners. Our Development Team exerts diligent efforts to ensure that our prospect management includes focused research work on finding potential donors, with set standard metrics, and building funder portfolios in a timely manner. In recent times, particularly during the pandemic, we also felt the unwavering support and generosity of the community, including our donors and funders. We will tap on this momentum to continue amplifying our case for support, growing, and diversifying our funding sources, and enhancing the way we communicate with our donors and funders. Community Partners. List all community partners you are working with on this program, if any (200 word limit).* PADS recognizes that it needs to be collaborative in all that it does. We operate in partnership with a number of different organizations and are active members of the Lake County Coalition for the Homeless. Our membership in this group is representative of our desire to work with others to achieve our respective missions. Specific member organizations that provide homeless services include: A Safe Place, C.O.O.L, Catholic Charities, Harbor - Alexian Bros, Independence Center, Lake County Haven, Lake County Health Department - Behavioral Health Services, Prairie State Legal Services, Thresholds, Captain James A. Lovell Federal Healthcare Center, & Waukegan Township. Specific to this program, we work closely with the Lake County Health Department's Behavioral Health Services, Erie HealthReach, and Nicasa. PADS participates in the Lake County Homeless Coalition Housing Placement Workgroup which involves 6 other agencies. This group specifically identifies chronically homeless individuals from the coordinated entry system who are difficult to engage in housing. PADS staff are integral with this partnership, providing insight and engagement strategies to other homeless providers in order to quickly move clients into successful permanent supportive housing. Proposal Budget Budget and Budget Narrative: • Grant requests should start at $10,000 and not exceed $100,000. • Provide a line-item budget for how the grant money will be utilized for the proposal. Budget should be for the exact amount of grant funding requested. • In the budget narrative, explain the total budget and what portion of that budget will be covered by NM Community Benefit Grant funds. Please note, it is important that the budget narrative clearly defines which budget items will be covered by the NM Community Benefit grant. • Be sure to explain any additional resources being applied to this proposal (e.g. any sources of other funding, including in-kind services) in the narrative. Upload Proposal Budget* Budget Narrative. Explain total budget. Include the portion covered by this proposal as well as the portion not covered by this proposal. Explain additional resources and demonstrate capacity and sustainability (200 word limit).* Generous funding from Northwestern Medicine would allow us to supplement our vital MHHS program in a year when we have lost significant funding from HLNLC due to it being a by year for us. The total program budget is $ 102,003. We are requesting that Northwestern cover roughly 50% of this total budget, with additional funding provided by PADS General Operating fund. Items included in the budget include: our HHAP Case Manager and HealthCare Advocate, a portion of fringe benefits, materials and supplies, equipment, and travel.