Phase II

The Plan called for the development of 750 new transitional housing beds, called primary care in the Plan, to provide from six (6) to nine (9) months of housing with intensive case management assistance to prepare individuals for independent living. It is usually targeted to homeless individuals and families in emergency housing who have had their most immediate needs met, and who require more intensive, specialized services to achieve residential and financial stability. Primary care programs are residential or supported, scattered site programs. Programs use both leased and purchased facilities.

All homeless persons in primary care receive individualized case management that may include substance abuse treatment, mental health care, vocational/educational training, job placement assistance, life skills and independent living training, and continued health care and access to entitlement benefits that may have been initiated at the emergency care level. Additionally, permanent housing placement assistance and appropriate post-placement follow-up is required.

The development of primary care housing has included annual operating subsidies to allow agencies to expand their capacity and/or lease additional housing to expand their services. Transitional housing, encompassing programs providing specific types of services (substance abuse treatment, mental health services, domestic violence intervention programs for the dually diagnosed, family transitional housing and non-treatment programs for the employed/employment-ready) have been funded to varying levels annually since the inception of the Trust using food and beverage tax resources, as they may be available.

In addition to these specialized services, all Trust-funded transitional housing requires the full complement of case management services, which include the development of a service plan, referrals to health care, assistance in accessing entitlement benefits, vocational training as appropriate, job placement assistance, day care, as needed, and assistance in permanent housing placement with follow-up services.