COMMUNITY HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PARTNERS

HOUSING: INDEPENDENT LIVING ASSOCIATION (ILA) / RECOVERY RESIDENCE ASSOCIATION (RRA): THESE PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAMS CONDUCTED IN COORDINATION WITH THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO HHSA BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES WORK TO MITIGATE HOMELESSNESS, WHICH IS A PERSISTENT PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE IN THIS COUNTY. THESE INDEPENDENT LIVING HOMES THAT HAVE ACHIEVED AND MAINTAIN FULL MEMBERSHIP IN THE ILA AND RRA, ARE UNLICENSED PRIVATELY OWNED HOMES, COMPLEXES AND UNITS THAT SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS THE EVOLVING HOUSING NEEDS OF PERSONS WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS, SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND CO-OCCURRING DISORDERS. ILA AND RRA MEMBER HOMES SERVE AS A LOW BARRIER, HIGH QUALITY ENVIRONMENTS THAT SUPPORT RECOVERY FROM MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES. IN ADDITION, THIS MODEL OF SHARED HOUSING ALSO SERVICES THE HOUSING NEEDS OF PRIORITY POPULATIONS THAT ARE COMMONLY OVERLOOKED SUCH AS LOW-INCOME SENIORS ON A FIXED INCOME, TRANSITION AGE YOUTH, HOMELESS, AND FORMERLY INCARCERATED PERSONS. SPECIFICALLY, THE CHIP ILA MODEL HAS BEEN REPLICATED SUCCESSFULLY IN FRESNO COUNTY AND SANTA CLARA COUNTY.CARE ACT WAS EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2023, AS THE STATE LEVEL, AND WAS OFFICIALLY IMPLEMENTED IN THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2023. CARE AUTHORIZES SPECIFIED ADULT PERSONS TO PETITION A CIVIL COURT TO CREATE A VOLUNTARY CARE AGREEMENT OR A COURT-ORDERED CARE PLAN THAT CAN INCLUDE TREATMENT, HOUSING SUPPORT, AND OTHER SERVICES FOR PERSONS WITH UNTREATED SCHIZOPHRENIA OR OTHER PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS. SAN DIEGO COUNTY IS A PILOT COUNTY AND WILL LAUNCH THE CARE COURT PROGRAM ON OCTOBER 1, 2023, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE SUPERIOR COURT, THE PUBLIC DEFENDER, LEGAL ADVOCACY, CONTRACTED SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS. THE CARE COURT PROCESS ENTAILS THE FOLLOWING STEPS: 1) REFERRALS, 2) INITIAL DETERMINATION, 3) INVESTIGATION AND ENGAGEMENT, 4) ESTABLISHING A CARE PLAN, AND 5) CONNECTING TO SERVICES. CHIP SPECIFICALLY WORKS WITH STEP #5, SO ONCE A CARE PLAN IS ACCEPTED BY THE SUPERIOR COURT, COUNTY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES, AND ITS NETWORK OF COMMUNITY-BASED PROVIDERS WILL ENGAGE IDENTIFIED INDIVIDUALS FOR WHOM A CARE PLAN HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED TO CONNECT TO SERVICES INCLUDING A HOUSING PLAN (CHIP), BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TREATMENT, MEDICATION STABILIZATION, AND OR SOCIAL SERVICE AND LEGAL SUPPORTS. CHIP'S SPECIFIC ROLE IN SUPPORT OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO SEEK COLLABORATION WITH HOUSING OPERATORS TO EXPLORE PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES WITH THE CARE COURT PROGRAM, AND THE GOAL IS TO LOCATE HOUSING THAT ARE WILLING AND EAGER TO HOUSE INDIVIDUALS RECEIVING SERVICES AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO'S BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROJECTS: SAN DIEGO COUNTY SUICIDE PREVENTION COUNCIL. THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY SUICIDE PREVENTION COUNCIL WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2012 WITH THE MISSION TO REDUCE SUICIDES IN THE COUNTY, AND IT'S DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES. THE COUNCIL'S VISION IS ZERO SUICIDES IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY. THE WORK OF THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY SUICIDE PREVENTION COUNCIL IS DRIVEN BY THE EXISTENCE OF THE COUNTY'S SUICIDE PREVENTION ACTION PLAN (SPAP), WHICH WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN APRIL 2011, AND FROM THAT POINT UPDATED EVERY 5-6 YEARS, TO MEET THE COMMUNITY'S EVOLVING NEEDS IN EFFECTIVELY ADDRESSING THIS PERSISTENT PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY. THE SPAP IS BASED ON THE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE'S ENVIRONMENTAL PREVENTION MODEL, WHICH CONSISTS OF UNIVERSAL, SELECTED AND INDICATED STRATEGIES. TO THIS END, THE SPAP CONTAINS STRATEGIES THAT INCLUDE POPULATION-BASED APPROACHES, STRATEGIES THAT TARGET GROUPS CONFIRMED AT-RISK OF SUICIDE, AND STRATEGIES THAT TARGET GROUPS POTENTIALLY AT-RISK OF SUICIDE, REPRESENTING INNOVATIONS. CHIP HAS SERVED AS PROGRAMMATIC LEAD AND FISCAL AGENT OF THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY SUICIDE PREVENTION COUNCIL SINCE 2012, AND TODAY, BOASTS OF A ROBUST COALITION THAT CONSISTS OF 90+ PARTNERS (AND OVER 1,100 INDIVIDUALS) THAT REPRESENT A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE, COMMUNITY WIDE APPROACH TO SAVE LIVES, RESTORE HOPE, ALLEVIATE THE PAIN THAT PEOPLE ARE LIVING WITH, AND CONNECT PERSONS AT-RISK WITH EFFECTIVE RESOURCES. THE SPC IMPLEMENTS THE SPAP THROUGH AT LEAST 10 SUBCOMMITTEES AND AD HOC COMMITTEES THAT ALL WORK TO IMPLEMENT SPECIFIC WORK PLANS REPRESENTING DIVERSE SECTORS OF THE COMMUNITY, AND THE OVERALL COMMUNITY WIDE APPROACH. SINCE 2012, THE SPC CELEBRATES ESTIMATED 20% REDUCTION OF SUICIDES IN THE COUNTY, AND THE LOWEST RATES OF SUICIDE IN THE COUNTY SINCE 2010.