The Office of Mental Health (OMH) announces this Request for Proposals (RFP) for the development and operation of a 27 bed Enhanced Young Adult Scattered Site Supportive Housing program located in New York City for young adults with a serious mental illness (SMI). The target population for all 27 beds in this program are: young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 with serious mental illness coming from an institutional setting, leaving foster care, or are homeless. Some individuals may have a co-occurring Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and be at various stages of recovery, see Appendix D in the pre-submission uploads in Grants Gateway. The Enhanced Young Adult Supportive Housing Program is scattered-site housing that can be sited in any borough in New York City. However, all 27 beds must be in one borough. Although supportive housing is permanent housing, the agency will be expected to transition the individuals to an adult housing slot within their agency, another agency or to independent housing, as the individual progresses in their recovery and no later than their 26th birthday. The Enhanced Young Adult Supportive Housing program is intended to help young adults with SMI transition from institutional settings, foster care, and homelessness; improve access to behavioral health and community resources; pursue vocational/educational goals; and develop real-world skills that will support them on the path forward as independent adults. Many of these young adults do not have the sufficient skills needed to successfully live independently in the community. This program will provide additional assistance, including enhanced case management, real-world skill building, vocational/educational support, and a peer. Enhanced funding will be used for two additional staff members: a Psychiatric Rehabilitation Specialist who has vocational experience and a Peer who has lived experience; funding may also be used to augment the salary of the Program Manager so that the individual has clinical experience and expertise. The Enhanced Young Adult Supportive Housing Program will include both enhancements to current supportive housing services and new services that are important for young adults. The model will have four staff members: Program Manager, with clinical experience; Case Manager with a reduced case load; Psychiatric Rehabilitation Specialist, with educational/vocational experience; and a Peer. The four individuals will form a de facto team so that all residents are introduced to each staff member, thus, if a crisis or other emergency arises, a familiar person can respond. The flexibility to respond to crises internally and a Program Manager with clinical experience, is intended to reduce the need for external intervention. The four-person team can stagger hours to provide coverage at night and on weekends and will also add flexibility for additional home visits, if needed. The enhanced services model includes Case Management (1:20 consumer to staff ratio), Supported Vocational/Education, Real-World Skill Building, additional clinical support, and a Peer, as well as the flexibility of a de facto team to support young adult needs and crises, as they arise. A significant challenge in meeting the needs of young adults, particularly those with long histories of system involvement, is engagement. A Peer is included in the Enhanced Young Adult Supportive Housing Program to support engagement, as well as self-advocacy, and development of real-world skills. Young adults want to be independent, which means that they need jobs – skill development and vocational/educational support are crucial to successfully move forward. The supported vocational/educational component within the program is important to enable the young adults to progress and while there are community-based programs available to support these young adults, many need more hands-on support, which is possible by deploying a staff person within the housing program. A staff person can develop a relationship and support the young adult with the ups and downs of their early work experiences, which are natural for many young adults, not just those with SMI. Additionally, young adults coming from institutional settings, foster care, or who were homeless are likely to have significant behavioral health and community resource needs with substantial corresponding case management requirements.

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