Unhoused Connecticut residents struggling with drug addiction may soon have a secure home, as part of a new program aimed at a holistic approach to treating addiction.
The Housing Empowering Recovery Opportunity (HERO) program, run by the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), will connect unhoused residents struggling with addiction to housing, treatment and employment.
DMHAS found there was a gap in temporary housing services available for people struggling with addiction, according to Alice Minervino, who runs the department’s housing and homeless services.
“Once people are stably housed, they are able to focus their life less on having a place to put their head down at night, and more on their recovery, their reconnecting to family, reconnecting to community and staying housed,” Minervino said.
As part of the program, DMHAS “purchased” 500 Connecticut Rental Assistance Program vouchers, which will allow HERO participants to find affordable housing across the state, Minervino said.
When unhoused people call 211 for housing assistance, they aren’t always connected with a case worker who will track their progress and check in with them to see if they’ve secured housing, treatment and employment. However, the HERO program will provide this level of assistance.
“The case manager will work with them on many of their pre-tenancy skills, like locating an apartment, understanding how to work with a landlord, negotiate things around the rent,” Minervino said. “Those skills are really, really critical for folks. So once they're in the apartment, some of their tendency sustaining skills like budgeting, other just activities of daily living.”
HERO is funded by the Connecticut Opioid Settlement Advisory Council. Eight local homeless service providers statewide will connect unhoused residents with services, once.
The program finds housing as well as treatment options for participants, according to Agustin Lopez, senior director of specialized community services for mental health Connecticut.
“It is designated to help those that are really struggling, because they have been in and out of treatment facilities or in and out of methadone clinics or programs like that, so that they can get the support that they need, because the substance use is one of the biggest barriers to keep them housed.”
Mental Health Connecticut is one of two providers for Fairfield County and Northwestern Connecticut, including Waterbury and Litchfield areas, Lopez said.
Participants in the program will be identified and recommended by the local providers, and then go through a screening to confirm eligibility.
“You're going to have a case management that is also going to focus on helping them make sure that if there's an opportunity for employment that is being looked at, that if there's an opportunity to continue in an outpatient type of program or peer support recovery groups,” Lopez said.
