Focused Achievements in Housing and Recovery (FAIHR) provides treatment and services for individuals, families and transitional age youth experiencing homelessness - Steppingstone Incorporated’s (SS) Focused Achievements in Housing and Recovery Project (FAIHR) proposes to provide treatment, housing placement and other recovery support for homeless persons with SMI, SED or co-occurring disorders (MHD & SUD) in Fall River and New Bedford, MA. FAIHR will provide supportive housing combined with substance use and integrated co-occurring disorder treatment and wrap-around services. FAIHR will serve 450 individuals and families over the five-year grant term and will prioritize transitional age youth. FAIHR will perform outreach in SS’s FR First Step Inn shelter and NB homeless shelters, as well as street outreach including known encampments of the hard-to-reach homeless and young adult/transitional age youth population. Other outreach venues will include soup kitchens, emergency care settings and other places frequented by the homeless. Once enrolled, FAIHR’s 1 FTE Mental Health Clinician (MHC) will provide on-site treatment. Other FAIHR project staff include 1 FTE Project Director, .25 Evaluator, 1 FTE Project Coordinator, .25 FTE Nurse Practitioner, 2 FTE Integrated Care Facilitators (Case Managers) and 2 Outreach Workers. FAIHR’s caseworkers will follow the evidence-based CTI case management model and develop individual service plans, driven by FAIHR participants’ needs and goals. FAIHR CMs will connect individuals to all services and supports needed, such as peer recovery coaching, housing, mainstream benefit programs, health insurance and healthcare, educational and vocational programs and other supports. FAIHR collaborates with both HUD CoC MA-505 (New Bedford) and CoC MA-515 (Fall River) and is a member of both continuum’s homeless provider network groups with the goal of improving housing and other outcomes for the homeless. FAIHR connects with both FR and NB “The Call” (FR & NB’s HUD coordinated entry system) to place clients in housing. Steppingstone offers over 100 permanent supportive housing-first units (HUD-funded) and operates two graduate recovery homes, available to eligible FAIHR clients. FAIHR will promote recovery through implementation of evidence-based practices including Housing-First, Integrated Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders and Critical Time Intervention. Other services will include medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), peer recovery coaching, independent living skills training, discharge planning, and assistance obtaining entitlements, employment, and childcare. FAIHR will operate a Racial Equity Assessment & Action Planning (REP) Steering Committee, which will meet monthly and include representatives from state substance abuse and mental health authorities, housing authorities, the Veteran’s Office, local police and health department, educational and vocational reps, the state Medicaid Agency, and other stakeholders including homeless individuals and persons in recovery from SUD/CODs.
