New Program Helps Clear Waitlists for City and State Mobile Treatment Programs While Supporting Hardest-to-Reach, Hardest-to-Treat New Yorkers
(New York, N.Y.)—This Spring, the Institute for Community Living announced a new $2.3 million three-year pilot funded by the Helmsley Charitable Trust and designed to help address the gaps in support for people who experience serious behavioral health challenges and housing insecurity. The pilot, Step-down Treatment Ensures Personal Success (STEPS), provides a first-of-its-kind step-down model for individuals enrolled in the highly successful city Intensive Mobile Treatment (IMT) and state Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) mobile programs, and who are ready for less intensive services. It is estimated that there are more than 1,300 individuals waiting for placement in IMT and ACT, and STEPS will allow the city and state to move people off the waitlists while providing current ACT and IMT participants with more appropriate services.
“We work with the hardest-to-reach and hardest-to-treat individuals and have a deep understanding of the gaps in the system that present barriers to more people getting better. We designed STEPS to help an increased number of people receive the care they need to build stability, move off the streets, and lead their best lives,” said Jody Rudin, President and CEO, Institute of Community Living. The pilot will launch this fall.
“For New Yorkers who have some of the most complex health and social needs, the path to long-term stability requires consistent, personalized support. ICL’s visionary step-down treatment program expands the range of intensity in care to adjust to changing needs, while allowing more people to enroll in IMT programs. Individuals will now be able to continue their path toward stability utilizing a right-sized level of IMT services, making the best use of this critical care,” said Tracy Perrizo, Program Officer of Helmsley Charitable Trust’s New York City Program.
STEPS will continue to provide individuals moving from IMT and ACT programs with the critical services they need—including psychiatric evaluation, medication management, health monitoring and wellness education, comprehensive case management and advocacy, skills development and social engagement, and peer recovery support. These services will be provided via home or field visits, in-group sessions, and through telehealth, as appropriate. ICL anticipates serving 250 individuals through the pilot.
“IMT and ACT support individuals in starting a journey toward recovery. But we have found that after time, some individuals are ready for less intensive services that still ensure they stay on the path to improved well-being. STEPS provides this service model, which was never available. It builds out a continuum of care that is focused on whole health, and we’re confident that it will help individuals make progress in their recovery,” said Troy Boyle, ICL Senior Vice President of Coordinated Care Management.
Long an innovator of whole health services for people experiencing significant mental health challenges, ICL was at the forefront of implementing mobile treatment teams and has a nearly 30-year track record of delivering health care where clients live—including in shelters, community spaces where they socialize, and other locations where clients feel comfortable. IMT and ACT are ICL’s most prominent models of mobile treatment, with 204 ICL clients currently receiving IMT services and 543 clients currently receiving ACT services.
ICL’s IMT and ACT teams provide high-touch mobile treatment to individuals with complex behavioral health needs and trauma, social functioning challenges, legal involvement, housing insecurity, and dependency on emergency room and inpatient hospital stays for their primary and behavioral health care.
Until now, IMT and ACT clients ready for less intensive services have not had the option to reduce their service levels to the scale they need to continue to build independence and maintain stability. While they remain on the limited number of high-intensity IMT and ACT program rosters for longer than needed, the waitlists for new IMT and ACT clients grow longer.
“I applaud the efforts of the Institute for Community Living to broaden the continuum of care within the mental health field with the innovative pilot program, STEPS,” said Council Member Linda Lee, Chair of the Committee on Mental Health Disabilities and Addictions. “There is no one-size-fits-all solution to address the specific and unique mental health challenges experienced by each New Yorker. In order to ensure individuals receive appropriate care, we must implement programs that are tailored to meet their needs where they are on their mental health journey. The STEPS program not only addresses the gap in the system of mental health service provision, but also frees up vital resources for people suffering from severe mental illness and closes the revolving door of rehabilitation and release along the continuum of care.”
“Right now, in New York City, the shelter system is the most likely place for someone experiencing mental health issues and housing insecurity to end up. Our city desperately needs more options for people to receive critical care and support,” said Council Member Shahana Hanif. “The new pilot from the Institute for Community Living will provide supportive housing and care options for many of our neighbors in need. These are the types of programs our city needs to invest in to ensure we’re building a true economy of care.”
“NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) connects individuals with mobile treatment services and care coordination. A level of care in between these two options would be a tremendous resource for New Yorkers experiencing serious mental illness who might no longer need the intensive supports of an ACT or IMT team but could benefit from more than care coordination. ICL’s new program can help people continue their recovery journeys when they are ready to step down from ACT and IMT, and open up a place for a New Yorker with intensive service needs to be connected to the city’s highest levels of care,” said Insha Hilliard, LMSW, Director, Office of Adult Single Point of Access (SPOA), NYC DOHMH To learn more about referrals and eligibility, contact ICL Hope Center at (844) ICL-HOPE | (844) 425-4673.
