San Diego County Behavioral Health Services (BHS) and CSH are working together to implement a Moving On initiative with the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC). BHS contracts with Full Service Partnerships (FSPs) that provide Assertive Community Treatment and housing supports to individuals with serious mental illness, many of whom are homeless or at-risk of homelessness when they enter the program. The FSPs use a Housing First approach and utilize a variety of housing options including Independent Living Homes (ILHs), subsidized units that were developed with BHS funding, master-leased units, and other market rate housing to ensure that clients are housed quickly after they enter the program. A significant portion of the FSP clients rely on SDHC housing subsidies or on subsidies that are provided from BHS program funds.
The average monthly enrollment for all of the contracted FSP programs is over 1200, and BHS estimates that 10 -15% of these clients are clinically stable and could access psychiatric care in the community but remain in the program to maintain housing supports. Because of this, the FSP programs are experiencing a gridlock as there are limited affordable housing options in San Diego County for clients who are clinically able to exit permanent supportive housing but lack the income to afford market rate housing. While some FSP clients have obtained tenant-based subsidies from the SDHC, the need for additional housing subsidies persists. BHS is pursuing a Moving On strategy to help fill that gap and provide additional subsidies, as well as open up slots for new FSP clients who need permanent supportive housing.
SDHC has proposed a pilot Moving On program that will offer 25 housing subsidies to stable clients who are able to exit their FSP program and access community services to address their mental health needs. BHS, CSH, and SDHC are working together to develop a service model to provide transitional services to former FSP clients with the goal of maintaining permanent affordable housing.
