JOURNAL ARTICLE
RESEARCH SUPPORT, U.S. GOV'T, P.H.S.
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Clinical and treatment correlates of access to Section 8 certificates for homeless mentally ill persons.

OBJECTIVE: The study assessed how clients' housing preference and other variables were related to the acquisition of Section 8 certificates, facilitating independent living, for homeless persons with severe mental illness who were being served by an experimental assertive community treatment team.

METHODS: For 77 clients, demographic and clinical differences between receivers and nonreceivers of certificates were examined, and correlates of time from referral to the team to completion of the Section 8 application were analyzed. Reasons clients did not receive certificates and housing outcomes were summarized in relation to client preference.

RESULTS: The 34 clients who received certificates (44 percent) had significantly less psychopathology after three months than did nonreceivers and tended to have affective disorders rather than schizophrenia. Of the 43 nonreceivers, the two largest groups were 19 clients who did not want certificates and ten clients who wanted certificates but whom staff considered unable to live safely in an unsupervised apartment. The mean +/- SD length of time for application for a certificate was 5.7 +/- 5.8 months. Longer time to apply was significantly associated with having schizophrenia, having the team as a representative payee, and showing increased psychotic symptoms at referral and at three months.

CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that it is possible to honor the housing preferences of the majority of homeless persons with severe mental illness if adequate resources are provided. However, staff may view persons who have schizophrenia and more symptoms as needing more supervision than those clients prefer. Homeless mentally ill persons may also take longer than more symptomatic persons to pursue independent living through a Section 8 certificate.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app