Wellness and Recovery in Housing Support – Part 2 of 4
I have a very personal connection to wellness and recovery as it relates to mental illness. If you haven’t read my older blog on living with depression, you can read it here. Or if you want to watch my...
View ArticleWellness and Recovery in Housing Support – Part 3 of 4
I have a very personal connection to wellness and recovery as it relates to mental illness. If you haven’t read my older blog on living with depression, you can read it here. Or if you want to watch my...
View ArticleWhen Clients Die
When working with vulnerable populations, one of the unfortunate realities is that some clients will die. Death is part of life. Even when exercising professional boundaries, there is a bond formed...
View ArticleSobriety is NOT a Precondition for Housing Success – Look at the Facts
Once people hit the age of majority, they are entitled to drink legally. Everyone can have their own opinions about their own consumption. These opinions may be based upon their personal values,...
View ArticleWhen to Let Clients Go
In this blog I want to explore the transition of clients from being part of the active caseload in a time-limited housing support program to the point where they no longer need their housing case...
View ArticleBat Shit Crazy (And Other Common Excuses)
John, the support worker says, “I can’t help him. He’s bat shit crazy.” Elaine, the case manager says, “He was in the army. He’s a trained killer. When he’s off his meds I won’t go near him.” Tony,...
View ArticleGone Fishing – And That’s a Good Thing
As you read this I have literally gone fishing. I am in the middle of nowhere in Northern Ontario less than two hours from where I grew up. In fact I am on a small island in the middle of a lake that...
View ArticleBe Awesome to Each Other
“Be awesome to each other, as I have been awesome to you.” I’m paraphrasing – and I am no theologian or scripture scholar – but I think that is essentially the message in the 13th Chapter of the Book...
View ArticleTrue Currency in a Bankrupt World: A Discussion of Approaches to Substance Use
“The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you’re uncool.” – Lester Bangs (Spoken by Phillip Seymour Hoffman in the movie Almost Famous) Let’s talk about...
View ArticleThe Big Picture: A Statewide Approach to Common Assessment
I am writing this about halfway through the first leg of the statewide SPDAT tour of Michigan. Michigan, in all her VAST glory, has joined a number of states and provinces that have decided that they...
View ArticleWaiting Lists to Nowhere for the “Un-houseable”: How Not to Do Coordinated...
Assessing for the sake of assessing sucks. That isn’t coordinated access. That is a bureaucratic response (and not just government) to the issue that solves nothing. Recently I was in a community that...
View ArticleHealth & Homelessness: This Should Make You Focus on Solutions
We need to focus on housing people experiencing homelessness – families, single adults, and youth. With only a few exceptions (obesity, cancer, stroke), people experiencing homelessness are more likely...
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