Local Program Helps Homeless Women
WABC
February 8, 2009
February 8, 2009 (WABC) --
A program headquartered in East Harlem has a special mission. The
Center for Urban Community Services helps homeless and low-income women
get into homes and provides them with basic tools to live healthy
lives. The program director, Linda Ricciardi and recent graduate,
Michelle Ponist, joined us.
What is 350 TLC?
· The 350 TLC program helps homeless and low
income women get into homes, and provides them with the basic tools to
live healthy lives. It is a 4-6 month program in which during this time
the women are offered medical, wellness and psychiatric counseling.
Once they graduate from this program, CUCS still maintains contact with
financial and career counseling and resources to help the women
successfully integrate into the community.
· 350 TLC was the
first shelter in the city of NY that provided social service program
geared at finding and achieving housing socials for homeless women with
chronic mental illnesses.
· 350 is one of the most successful
programs in the NYC shelter system in finding supportive housing and
maintain this special population in housing enjoying successful lives
again.
What kinds of Services are Offered to the 350TLC Population?
· Outreach/Referral
· Assessment and Service Planning
· Comprehensive on-site Case Management
· Group or Classroom Activates
· Wellness Self Management
· Psychiatric treatment
· Medical treatment
· Living Skills Training
· Housing Placement
· Post placement follow-up services
How Many Women Does 350 TLC Place into Permanent Housing, Annually?
· 350 helps place 65 homeless women annually on average · Socials
workers, doctors and the resident community of 350 offer these women
the opportunity to heal and be reborn with compassion and dignity.
What Is Wellness Self Management?
· 350 was the first shelter in NYC to introduce Wellness Self Management (WSM) to the homeless and mentally ill population.
· WSM is based on scientific research that has shown that people who
receive this type of counseling and teaching recover quicker and regain
more effective control over their well being and health. The women are
empowered to better manage their recovery. Additionally, it helps
maintain their stability, keeps them out of hospitals longer, it raises
the person's self-esteem, and it teaches them to identify and actualize
personal goals.
Given the current economic climate, what are some challenges that lie ahead?
· Now, when there is an economic crisis and many programs are losing
their funding. it is important to maintain a social program that works
not only with compassion. but also consistently evaluates the
effectiveness of the work in measurable goals. Providers are asked to
demonstrate that the services offered are actually assisting the
clients to move forward.
About Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS)
Headquartered In East Harlem in New York City, CUCS is the nation's
largest provider of social services in supportive housing as well as a
comprehensive human services agency that implements new practices,
actively shares its knowledge and assists in shaping local, state and
national strategies so that persons who are homeless, low-income,
living with mental illness or have other special needs can live
successfully in the community.
For more information, visit www.cucs.org.
