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The Ohio Mental Health Housing Leadership Institute (MHHLI) is sponsored by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and directed by NAMI Ohio. Members of the Mental Health Housing Leadership Institute include nonprofit corporations that develop and manage supportive housing as their sole mission, as well as community mental health centers that own and manage supportive housing as part of their mission. The common thread of all members in the MHHLI is the commitment to provide a continuum of supportive housing options for people living with a serious mental illness.
Mission
The mission of the Ohio Mental Health Housing Leadership Institute (MHHLI) is to increase the availability and quality of supportive housing options for persons living with a serious mental illness throughout the State of Ohio, and when possible provide the collective experience of the Institute to increase supportive housing for all citizens of the United States with a mental illness.
The Institute will accomplish its mission through technical assistance, resource development, education of policy makers, advocacy, and system collaboration.
Vision
The Ohio Mental Health Housing Leadership Institute (MHHLI) serves as the leading catalyst for the development of supportive housing for persons with a serious mental illness in Ohio and the agencies that serve them. This will be accomplished by providing:
Greater access to government housing programs and successful partnerships with agencies at the state and local level;
Stronger housing expertise within mental health systems;
Mental health system investment to leverage affordable housing resources;
Access to sufficient permanent supportive housing to address the needs of people with mental illness who are chronically homeless;
Rigorous enforcement of federal fair housing laws and effective anti-stigma campaigns to combat housing discrimination;
An expansion of Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) model service teams;
The use of Medicaid options at the state and local level to cover supportive housing services; and technical assistance to re-orient services funding and implement these strategies.
The MHHLI provides consulting services based on an understanding of mental illness, homelessness, poverty and the public systems that impact people experiencing these personal difficulties.
The great geographic and demographic diversity in Ohio and the members of the MHHLI provide a multiplicity and multitude of experience working in urban, suburban and rural settings. These experiences are valuable resources to the State of Ohio and the entire country.
Value Statements
All citizen of Ohio living with a serious mental illness should have the opportunity to choose from an array of supportive housing options regardless of their county of residence.
All citizen of Ohio living with a serious mental illness should receive as much support, as they need, when they need it, in order to live successfully in the community.
The members of the MHHLI have a responsibility to provide technical assistance to other nonprofit developers, community mental health centers and human service systems both within the State of Ohio and nationally. As a member of the Ohio MHHLI we are expected to share our knowledge and experience so additional supportive housing resources will provide an opportunity for people with a serious mental illness to begin their personal journey of recovery. Without a home, recovery is not possible.
Increasing supportive housing opportunities must occur from a multilateral approach that includes public education and advocacy targeted at corporate and private investors, Federal, State and local governments, the media, philanthropic community, and the general public.
2003 Policy Statements
Ohio Priorities:
A Dedicated Fund for Supportive Services: We will encourage legislators and state staff to make social service funding more available in conjunction with the State’s housing investments to serve people with a serious mental illness at or below 30% of area median income.
We support increased funding of core safety net and housing programs of:
The Ohio Department of Mental Health:
The Ohio Department of Development:
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services:
Plan to End Homelessness: We call on the State of Ohio and all jurisdictions to develop and adopt plans to end homelessness in Ohio.
Editor’s Note: This policy paper draft is the result of the most important collaboration in the history of NAMI Ohio. In partnership with the Ohio Department of Mental Health Services, NAMI Ohio will utilize the resources available through the Ohio MHHLI to provide an invigorated leadership in the drive to make a comprehensive array of housing options available in every community. This new initiative will be the vehicle for an invigorated campaign to assist all communities in making this a top priority.
NAMI Ohio/Eli Lilly Housing Grant
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