In Feb 2008, SFU's Centre For Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction (CARMHA), the local "experts" on supportive housing examined the quality and breadth of the evidence, in a report about supportive housing for the severely mentally ill and/or addicted. 1
As a neighbour and taxpayer you want the mental health experts to provide you with the peer reviewed, published scientific evidence that supportive housing is safe, and effective in helping patients and there will be no negative impacts on the host neighbourhood.
Here's the current state of knowledge in supportive housing for the severely mentally ill and/or addicted from our local "experts" at CARHMA, SFU.
"The research provides few answers to date regarding the specific features of supportive housing that affect individual outcomes or the extent to which supportive housing is more effective than other forms of housing. We [CARMHA, mental health experts] do know that housing with supports makes a difference over no housing." 2
"Unfortunately, gaps in the literature pertaining to mental health, addictions, housing and support are considerable." 3
"Without this information [the gaps above] it is difficult to develop necessary policy and recommendations to assist in adequately housing and supporting this population." 4
"Once in housing supports, the majority of individuals with severe addictions and/or mental illness stay housed, are less likely to become homeless and are less likely to be hospitalized ... Impacts of housing on outcomes other than those related to residential stability [% of time housed. Housed or not housed.] and hospitalization have not been consistently studied…the evidence for improvements in psychiatric functioning as a result of supportive housing are mixed and inconclusive." 5
"The challenge for future research is to understand the conditions under which programs achieve positive outcomes." 6
Non Profit Supportive Housing Management pitch their program model with jargon like:
"within a psychosocial rehabilitation methodology ... This is a broadly practiced strength-based approach to supporting recovery of person with mental illness."
OR
"core components in recovery models ... the peer relationship provides the crucial nature supports that augment the professional system."
The current reality in the treatment of severe mental illness is: "The scarcity of high-quality evidence for mental health care is striking." 7 The Canadian Medical Journal, May 2008.
"In the current state of limited or missing evidence, mental health professionals can only guess at best treatments." 8 The Canadian Medical Journal, May 2008.
In light of these statements, combined with data on crime and behaviour issues involving addicts and some populations within the severely mentally ill most likely to be in supportive housing, it is imperative that there be risk management protocols in place to minimize risks to neighbourhoods who host large supportive housing projects, including the exclusion of addicts who are unable or unwilling to sustain abstinence.
Published October 24, 2008.