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Camillus House News
Ending Chronic Homelessness, One Person at a Time
March 30, 2009
by Maureen Fries
Guillermo Vilches and Nancy Avila are very grateful for all the help they have received from Camillus House.
Marvin chats easily through an interpreter, smiling and laughing as he candidly answers questions and talks about his recent visit with his children and grandchildren, a visit that he thought would never happen.
Nancy and Guillermo gesture excitedly, speaking rapidly in English and Spanish as they tell visitors about their recent decorating adventures…something neither would have dreamt about a year ago.
Until recently, Marvin, Nancy and Guillermo called the streets of Miami home. Now, they are three of 17 single adults who are living in single bedroom apartments as part of the most recent Camillus House program designed to end homelessness over the next 10 years.
Since September, a grant through the Miami Dade County Homeless Trust has allowed the Catholic non-profit organization to implement a new permanent housing program that will provide a total of 65 one bedroom apartments for single adults suffering from chronic homelessness over a two year period.
As a Peer Counselor, Odalys Lovett enjoys helping Marvin as he navigates the new waters of apartment living.The Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team model serves homeless men and women and helps improve the range of care already offered by Camillus House. In order to be eligible for this housing and treatment program, clients must meet the HUD definition of chronic homelessness – homeless for a year or longer (or experienced four episodes of homelessness in three years) and have a disabling condition – a physical, mental, or substance abuse problem, or a combination of these.
Camillus House chose this approach, according to Kathy Garcia, Director of the agency’s Institute of Social & Personal Ajustment, “because the ACT Team Model has proven to be effective with people who are chronically mentally ill. Our goal is to house people who are living on the streets. We know that living on the streets exacerbates all illnesses, including people living with mental illness. By providing housing and wrap around services we can help stabilize people emotionally and end chronic homelessness.”
“Some of the clients we have were homeless for 18 years, 12 years,” according to Connie Proano, Psy. D, the ACT Team Program Manager, “so it’s the first time they’re living inside the walls of an apartment. We try to make that experience for them as positive as it can be. “
To facilitate that goal, a full complement of professionals make up the ACT Team and work in tandem to make the transition from street living to apartment living a seamless and positive experience for their clients.
“The goal is to empower each client and help them feel that they are a very important part of this program,” explained Julio Rodriguez, the team’s Housing Specialist, “after all, this program is all about helping the clients.”
Nancy and Guillermo tell Stephanie Van Houton, Act Team Vocational Education Specialist all about decorating their apartment.As the man in charge of locating apartments, Rodriguez says he works with each client to determine where they want to live. Then, armed with this information, he negotiates available single bedroom apartments in Miami Dade County. He also checks to see where they lived before. “What we don’t want to do is put them back in an area they are familiar with, where they might relapse. We want them to be comfortable in their new community,” Rodriguez explains. Also taken into consideration are clients’ religious activities, medical services and shopping needs so their transportation needs can be addressed. “We try to place them in an apartment where all their needs are fulfilled.”
This multi-disciplinary program aims to provide an intensive, recovery based form of treatment to help people who may not have had access to traditional outpatient programs before. “There may be psychological issues so they might not go to psychiatric appointments,” Proano explained. “Some may not have had physical examinations in 20 years. We provide the services to them. We go to their home, so the therapy is done there or within the community. Or, if they’re more independent, they can come to the office.”
As a vocational educational specialist, Stephanie Van Houton advocates on behalf of the clients, providing job referrals, sending clients to school in their area of interest, finding and securing funding for them to go back to school, assisting with Pell grant qualifications, and offering supportive services. But it is through her passion that she really connects with the clients. An artist herself, she holds art therapy every Thursday, a workshop offering self help and self esteem building exercises. “It’s an educational, self help workshop," she explained. “They learn more about themselves. They can find out where they detoured off, where they want to go.”
Marvin gets some housing advice from Julio Rodriguez, the ACT Team Housing Specialist.Client participation in the ACT program is a multi-agency endeavor. According to Dr. Proano, outreach workers from various organizations like Citrus Health Center’s KIVA program, the City of Miami and the county keep tabs on persons who are homeless, including their names and how long they’ve been homeless. The names get transferred to a central place and from there the information is submitted to providers, letting them know where a particular person is or where they can be found. And licensed clinicians like Gillian Murray-Lyn go out to see the client. “We conduct the screening process in order to insure they’re meeting the qualifying criteria mainly chronic homelessness and mental illness. We maintain continuity by touching base with clients on a weekly basis.”
For five years, Nancy Avila and Guillermo Vilches made their home under a bridge, forced to survive on the street after the death of Nancy’s mother. “When she passed away, the rent went too high and I wasn’t able to afford to pay the rent with what I get with disability,” she recalled sadly.
Today they are very grateful for the assistance they receive from Camillus House. “You have your key for your own house, you just come in, open your own door, nobody bothers you," Nancy explains while Guillermo nods his agreement. “You can cook, you can sleep, you can take a shower, you can eat.”
After living on the streets for many years, Marvin Narvaez says his one bedroom apartment is not only a haven, it’s a new start. After a four year estrangement from his family, he beams when he talks about seeing them again. “They look at me differently now,” Marvin says of a recent visit. “They can visit dad and granddad at my own place. I am very happy about that.”
Client involvement in the program requires active participation. Each client pays a portion of the monthly rental price with their income, be it from employment, disability or social security. They voluntarily work on their treatment and counseling programs with peer counselors and case managers, who also play a key part in the process. On the front lines, they provide personal links back into the mainstream. They are the ones who help clients navigate through the rough waters of the legal, health and educational issues they must deal with. And Peer Counselor, Odalys Lovett is Radar O’Reilly of the team. “I get them what they need and get them where they need to be.”
“Through the ACT Team Model, hope and faith are restored,” Garcia said, reflecting on the program’s progress. “The clients have someone who cares about them, who’ll pick up the phone and check on them. They’re not alone.”
