A $2.5 million federal grant will fund housing and help women coping with addiction, homelessness, mental illness in New Haven
Hartford CourantMar 07, 2019
At the introduction Thursday of a five-year,
"I'm beyond ecstatic to be a part of this," LeBron, 41, told an audience at
Clean for a decade, reunited with her son, now 17, and living independently, she's a peer-recovery specialist who'll be working with case managers at New Reach supportive housing and social workers at Yale-
Other hospitals and housing providers have very effective relationships --
But the effort unveiled Thursday focuses solely on women, joins together a large urban hospital and supportive-housing network that have a lot of resources already, adds frequent performance evaluations by the Bassuck Center in
"Other states will be watching us," said Lt. Gov.
The money comes from a competitive federal grant -- the first one awarded with the purpose of demonstrating that this hospital-housing-social services partnership can put a significant number of women back on stable footing while making economic sense at the same time, said
The bill for one woman caught in the cycle of homelessness, drug addiction and mental illness can climb into the hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, more when children are involved, said Day.
"So for some of the women, it's multi-generational, and the vulnerability of a homeless woman is extremely high. They are likely to be exposed to trauma, such as sexual assault." Day said.
Dr.
Accepting the help, of course, is strictly voluntary.
"They could tell me, 'Who are you? What can you do for me?' " LeBron said. "I tell them we have different stories but I was on the same path, and it is possible to get out. I can show you the tools, the same ones I was shown."
New Reach had helped twice, once as a 21-year-old homeless addict and again, at 31, after witnessing the death of her son's father and a relapse into heroin addiction that ended eight years of stability and a good job as a veterinary technician. She was eventually connected with supportive housing, was treated for the infection in her heart, kicked heroin without using methadone or Suboxone, and got her boy back.
Judgmental, she's not.
"You know, this is about learning how to live again, how to be a mother again, and it's learning how to forgive yourself. Now that one, that can take some time, but it's doable."
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