ADULT MENTAL HEALTH COMMUNITY SUPPORT

The newly established Adult Mental Health Skills Building Program assists emotionally ill adults, age 18 and over, in learning and using basic life skills required for independent living. Clients may fi nd that they need help in transitioning from hospitalization, group home, or family life into independent living. A primary focus of this service is to teach, develop and enhance skills needed to promote independent living. Through this program, we work to prevent homelessness, or out of home placement.

The New Life Mental Health Specialist will meet the client at his or her residence to assess the client’s level of independence and to help the client prioritize their most urgent needs. This becomes the basis of the client’s Individual Service Plan. Then, sessions are scheduled in the home and community. Areas of concentration may be medication management, budgeting and banking, housekeeping, prevocational skills building, for example. This service empowers the client to think, act, and live on their own. It helps develop positive coping skills that enable them to maintain mental and physical health as they live independently in the community.