Dear Alameda County Community Member:
Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services (BHCS) – Housing Services Office (HSO) in partnership with EveryOne Home is sponsoring an open community presentation on May 7, 2008 on supported housing and the “housing first” approach to addressing homelessness and housing challenges among people with serious behavioral health issues. The presentation will be made by Sam Tsemberis, PhD and staff from Pathways to Housing. There program was recently recognized as a national evidenced-based practice by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). More information can be found at: SAMHSA's Intervention Summary on Pathways' Housing First Program.
The Community Presentation is open to anyone from Alameda County interested in learning about their program model and how it could be utilized in our County. The presentation will take place on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 from 9:30 am – 12:00 noon at the Alameda County Conference Center at 125 12th Street, STE 400 in Oakland. Attendance will be limited to the capacity of the conference room with space reserved for local programs currently implementing housing first approaches. Please arrive early to ensure a seat at the event. View announcement.
In addition to the Community Presentation, BHCS is hosting a more intensive training session with staff from Pathways to Housing in the afternoon on May 7th and from 9 am - 3 pm on Thursday, May 8th. This training session will be focused on providing additional information and technical assistance to Alameda County providers currently operating “housing first” programs, including the newly funded Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Full Service Partnerships (FSPs). If you work for a program implementing a “housing first” approach and are interested in attending this special training session, please contact me to see if there is space available – Robert Ratner or (510) 567-8124.
This event is being organized by Paul Takayanagi and staff from the BHCS Training Office. Questions about the event can be directed to Paul - (510) 639-1373 or Robert - (510) 567-8124.
We look forward to seeing you at the event!