The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2009 grants for the Development of Comprehensive Drug/Alcohol and Mental Health Treatment Systems for Persons Who are Homeless.

The purpose of this

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program is to expand and strengthen treatment services for persons who are homeless (including those who are chronically homeless), who also have substance use disorders, mental disorders, or co-occurring substance use and mental disorders.



To address the broad needs of this population, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment seeks to increase the number of homeless persons placed in stable housing and who receive treatment services for alcohol, substance use, and co-occurring disorders.

Funds are available for grants in two categories:
?General? and ?Services in Supportive Housing.? SAMHSA/CSAT is targeting $ 4. 5 million per year within the Treatment for Homeless Program for ?Services in Supportive Housing? grants.

The remaining $ 6. 8 million will be available for ?General? Treatment for Homeless grants.



The primary goal is to link treatment services with housing programs and other services (e.g., primary care).

?Homeless? persons are those who lack a fixed, regular, adequate nighttime residence, including persons whose primary nighttime residence is:
a supervised public or private shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations; a time-limited/nonpermanent transitional housing arrangement for individuals engaged in mental health and/or substance use disorder treatment; or a public or private facility not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation.

?Homeless? also includes ?doubled-up? ? a residential status that places individuals at imminent risk for becoming homeless ? defined as sharing another person?s dwelling on a temporary basis where continued tenancy is contingent upon the hospitality of the primary leaseholder or owner and can be rescinded at any time without notice.

?Chronically Homeless? persons are defined as unaccompanied homeless individuals with a substance use disorder, mental disorder, or co-occurring substance use and mental disorder, who have either been continuously homeless for a year or more or have had at least four (4) episodes of homelessness in the past three (3) years.



Funds are available for grants in the two categories in FY 2009:



?General?

Under a ?General? grant, funds may be used for services and populations of focus selected by the applicant based on local needs and resources.





?Services in Supportive Housing?

Under this category, services must be provided using a supportive housing approach.

For the purpose of this program, supportive housing is defined as housing that is permanent, affordable and linked to health, mental health, employment and other support services that provide consumers with long-term, community-based housing options.

This housing approach combines housing assistance and intensive individualized support services to chronically homeless individuals with substance use disorders, mental disorders, or co-occurring substance use and mental disorders.

Research indicates that such a combination of long-term housing and wrap-around services leads to improved residential stability and reductions in substance use and psychiatric symptoms (Shern, et al., 1994).

Grantees may not use grant funds to pay for housing.

Therefore, applicants proposing to provide services in supportive housing must demonstrate the ability to place clients in supportive housing and must provide documentation of the source of funding for the housing component each year of the grant (See Section I- 2. 2-Program Requirements).



Legislative Preferences and SAMHSA Priority



In accordance with Section 506 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended, which establishes certain legislative preferences for this program, applications will be reviewed and evaluated, in part, on the extent to which applicants:



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Provide integrated primary health, substance abuse, and mental health services to homeless individuals;

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Demonstrate effectiveness in serving runaway, homeless, and street youth;

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Have experience in providing substance abuse and mental health services to homeless individuals;

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Demonstrate experience in providing housing for individuals in treatment for or in recovery from mental illness or substance abuse; and/or

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Demonstrate effectiveness in serving homeless veterans.



Similarly, SAMHSA is interested in making awards to applicants that propose to expand and strengthen their treatment services for homeless, alcohol-dependent persons who have histories of public inebriation, frequent emergency room visits, arrests, mental disorders, or co-occurring substance use disorders and mental disorders.

The term ?chronic public inebriates? has been used to define this population.



The Treatment for Homeless program is one of SAMHSA?s services grant programs.

SAMHSA?s services grants are designed to address gaps in substance abuse and mental health prevention and treatment services and/or to increase the ability of States, units of local government, American Indian/Alaska Native Tribes and tribal organizations, and community- and faith-based organizations to help specific populations or geographic areas with serious, emerging mental health and substance abuse problems.

SAMHSA intends that its services grants result in the delivery of services as soon as possible after award.

Service delivery should begin by the 4th month of the project at the latest.





Treatment for Homeless grants are authorized under Section 506 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended.

This announcement addresses Healthy People 2010 focus area(s) 18 (Mental Health and Mental Disorders) and 26 (Substance Abuse).