Community Mental Health Support
In 2005, Sara Riel engaged the services of an external consultant to help determine the next steps in best practice mental health support services. This resulted in a recommendation to restructure the Community Rehabilitation Residential Program with a focus on supporting individuals in the community. The vision of Sara Riel Inc.'s Community Rehabilitation Program is timely access for individuals with serious and persistent mental illness to a holistic model of service delivery that includes: affordable, integrated housing of their choosing; support to fulfill desired roles in the community; support in setting and achieving rehab and recovery goals including harm reduction related to substance use; access to medical, social and spiritual supports; medication management; and support to find and maintain competitive employment.
Services Provided:
- Life Skills Development
- Counseling Services
- Case Management
- Life Skills Development and Support
- Spiritual Care and Cultural & Community Integration
- Leisure Planning Assistance and Recreation
- Assistance with Medication Management
- Crisis Support
- The Participant Exits the Program When
Life Skills Development
The Sara Riel Mental Health support team embraces a psychosocial rehabilitation approach to recovery from mental health challenges. This is accomplished both through one on one counseling and goal setting sessions with the client's mental health counselor and case manager, as well as through skills development focus group sessions. In addition this professionally skilled service team provides a curriculum of life skills development instruction and workshops to help empower individuals towards attaining their goals and maximizing personal autonomy and independence within their community of choice.
Program Activities:
Assistance with finding, getting and keeping housing
The SRI Services team will:
- Assist clients in securing safe housing and providing the support services necessary to establish and maintain a stable housing tenancy
- Assist clients in the completion of related tenancy documentation and negotiations with landlords
- Assist participants in obtaining items required for establishing a household
- Provide the supports required for participants to maintain housing, i.e. assistance with payment of rent and utilities, maintenance of the environment, negotiation and maintenance of relationships with the landlord and neighbors
- In cooperation with the SRI services team and external agents as needed, assess the client's life skills necessary to maintain a stable household and assist them in engaging in their mental health recovery process.
- Providing opportunity for individuals who determine this as a recovery goal, to help develop their employment skills leading to employment opportunities.
Counseling Services
- Clients meet once each week - or as needed - with a clinician for counseling in such areas as management of anxiety/stress and symptoms related to mental illness, improving relationships with others, developing coping skills, harm reduction / substance use counseling, problem solving and other issues that the client identifies as creating a barrier to recovery; length of sessions varies according to clients needs.
- Clinicians work together with clients to develop rehabilitation plans and to support clients in achieving rehabilitation goals identified in the rehabilitation and recovery plan.
- Clinicians work together with clients to develop natural and services networks in the community in accordance to the individual rehabilitation and recovery plan.
- Clinicians network with other agencies or professionals in the community who are linked with the client.
- Clinicians work closely with Life Skills Coaches on priority areas for skills development as outlined in the individual rehabilitation and recovery plan for each client.
Case Management
- Clinicians communicate and collaborate with other professionals or family members (with client permission) in the community involved in the client's care.
- Areas of networking depend on the client's expressed needs and their involvement with others (psychiatrist, therapists, family members, financial counselors, public trustee, medical doctor, professionals in another agency providing additional service, etc.) and various community agencies.
Life Skills Development and Support
- Clients receive support in areas of daily living skills (cooking, meal planning, budgeting, housekeeping and in structuring of daily/weekly personal schedules) to build on current abilities and to improve the quality of life.
Life Skills Coaches:
- Assess independent living skills and living spaces and develop action plans to address deficits in maintaining an apartment.
- Assist clients with tenancy agreements, utility set-up, change of address notifications, moving arrangements and acquiring necessary household items
- Ensure living spaces are ready for move-in and perform living space safety checklist with client
- Perform regular visits to the client's apartment as per their rehabilitation and recovery plan
- Facilitate access to SRI group activities to foster skills development and social connectedness
- Identify, assess, document and provide effective crisis intervention strategies utilizing the client's case manager and other emergency services if necessary. The SRI 24 hour Emergency On-Call is available to support SRI collateral agencies staff as needed.
Spiritual Care and Cultural & Community Integration
- Assistance with locating services in the community that meet the specific spiritual needs of a client is provided
- Support staff work closely with client to determine cultural and community organizations that would meet individual integration needs
- Support staff work closely with other cultural, spiritual and community organizations to help ensure access and good fit for those clients that request it as part of their rehabilitation and recovery plan.
Leisure Planning Assistance and Recreation
- Mental Health Support Workers discuss leisure interests with clients and provide assistance if needed in acquiring more information and accessing leisure activities in the community
- Mental Health Support Workers facilitate recreational group activities on a weekly basis for program participants
Assistance with Medication Management
- The program provides assistance to clients to ensure that they receive their medications and learn to take their medication according to physician's prescriptions. This is accomplished through prompts, goal setting and where appropriate, assistance with transportation to pharmacy or doctor's office for medication administration
Crisis Support
- Clinicians and Life Skills Coaches are able to increase the level of support as needed, if the client is experiencing a temporary crisis that could threaten their ability to remain stable or live independently.
- Clients are to be instructed in access to Community Crisis Supports
- The SRI 24 hour Emergency On-Call is available to staff and professionals supporting our clients
The Participant Exits the Program When:
- They have self selected out of the program
- They are situated in a stable housing situation and they no longer require housing support services; or
- When they are situated in a stable housing situation and their service needs are being fully met through other external agencies
If you are interested in applying for the Mental Heath Support Services, download and complete the Application Form and e-mail to: lwarman@sararielinc.com
or fax to: 233-2564