February 11, 2012 · www.gothamgazette.com

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State Must Provide Mentally Ill With Supported Housing
March 1st, 2010

A federal judge has ordered that New York State must stop sending people with mental illness to adult homes and instead being pace them in community-based supported housing. Judge Nicholas Garaufis of Federal Court in Brooklyn gave the state four years to find placement for people who want them at a minimum rate of 1,500 beds per year.

The ruling follows a lawsuit brought by Disability Advocates that the rights of the mentally ill were violated because being placed in adult homes stopped them from functioning as normal members of society.

Some adult home residents who have already made the transition to supported housing say they have the freedom they have craved for years. The New York Times reported that family members of those housed in adult homes due to mental illness have mixed feelings about the move to supported housing.

This decision confirms what adult home residents have been saying for yearsthat living in these large institutionalized homes isolates them and
marginalizes them, and frustrates any hope of recovery. Supported housing does the oppositeit keeps people in the community and supports a normal lifestyle. It is a much better alternative for people with psychiatric disabilities, says Geoff Lieberman, Executive Director of the Coalition
of Institutionalized Aged and Disabled

By David King on March 1, 2010, 10:38 pm
In category: Albany, City Hall, Eye on Albany, Health | No Comments »

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