Homeless could find housing, support with plan

Home-Makers project proposes community living for mentally ill now on streets

A home and some support.

That’s what homeless advocate Steve Ozark wants to provide for people with mental illness who live on Lawrence streets.

“The big point of stabilization comes from knowing that your home is solid and knowing that the people around you are not going to let you down and put you back on the street,” said Ozark, of the Lawrence Community Interfaith Initiative and the Coalition on Homeless Concerns.

Ozark on Monday discussed his plans for transitional and supportive housing for homeless individuals with mental illness during a gathering at Trinity Lutheran Church.

The plan, called the “Home-Makers” pilot project, would rely on support from local churches to house four to seven currently homeless individuals.

The project would be in cooperation with Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, which would extend its support services to those participating in the program.

Ozark said the project would work to fill the gap in services that makes it difficult for the mentally ill living on the streets to free themselves from a crisis state that could include drug addiction, crime or other problems.

Organizers envision that participants would live in the same building, supervised by a live-in staff member, a student in KU’s School of Social Welfare who would live on site in exchange for free rent. A resident counselor and peer support also would be available.

The program would help provide emotional support for the residents, Ozark said. And support services would be available through Bert Nash.

Ozark said the Home-Makers pilot is seeking support from local churches willing to sponsor one individual at a cost of about $500 per month for three years.

Lynn Amyx, residential services coordinator at Bert Nash, said the program could go a long way in helping people get off the street and out of crisis mode.

“If we have six great units, those are going to be six or eight people who are not downtown, who are not just hopeless in the community, who can become productive members of the community,” she said.