Mental Illness (SHIMI) is a partnership between New Dawn Enterprises, Mental ...
The groups that form the SHIMI partnership work with other local ... Page 2 ...
CANADA MORTGAGE AND HOUSING CORPORATION
Project Profile Supportive Housing for Individuals with Mental Illness (SHIMI) Sydney, Nova Scotia Supportive Housing for Individuals with Mental Illness (SHIMI) is a partnership between New Dawn Enterprises, Mental Health Services (Cape Breton District Health Authority), the Cape Breton Mental Health Services Charitable Foundation, and the Canadian Mental Health Association. The groups that form the SHIMI partnership work with other local stakeholders to provide safe, supportive and affordable housing for people aged 19 and up, living with mental illness.
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A need and demand analysis completed by Crossroads Clubhouse, a local program for people living with long-term mental illness, and the District Health Authority found that there was an immediate need for at least 90 affordable housing units. In addition, SHIMI knew that the majority of affordable housing available for people with mental illness targeted the needs of individuals aged 58 and over and did not meet the specific needs of younger people.
Highlights Thanks to an exciting new partnership, people living with mental illness have more affordable housing options and the support services they need to help them reintegrate into their community Client group: People living with mental illness aged 19 and up Developer: Supportive Housing for Individuals with Mental Illness (SHIMI) Number of units: Nine independent apartment units in two buildings (Phase 1) Tenure: Rental Who was involved? New Dawn Enterprises, Mental Health Services (Cape Breton District Health Authority), the Cape Breton Mental Health Services Charitable Foundation, the Canadian Mental Health Association, Crossroads Clubhouse, and community citizens of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, CMHC and Service Canada
The Affordable Housing Solution SHIMI identified three sites located throughout downtown Sydney, close to services that could be renovated or developed as affordable housing for people living with mental illness. The sites had the appropriate zoning, and therefore no zoning changes were required. Two of the sites had existing residential buildings and one had a non-residential building. SHIMI received an interest-free CMHC Proposal Development Funding (PDF) loan to conduct a structural engineering
assessment of the two original residential buildings to determine if they were suitable to be renovated into multi-unit housing. Once the feasibility of renovating the buildings was determined, an architectural design concept was developed, also with assistance of PDF. The two original residential buildings were completely redesigned and converted into multi-unit housing during Phase 1 of the SHIMI project, which was completed in 2007.
Project Profile—Supportive Housing for Individuals with Mental Illness (SHIMI)
New Dawn Enterprises, Cape Breton District Health Authority and the Canadian Mental Health Association provide property management, and tenant support and referral services. The Department of Community Services provides income support. Service Canada, through the Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative (SCPI) provided $500,000 in funding to renovate the two properties in Phase 1. The Cape Breton Mental Health Services Charitable Foundation provided funding for appliances and furnishings for each of the units. The recently renovated buildings look a lot like new condominiums and have spurred revitalization in the surrounding neighbourhood. One of the renovated buildings has four units and the other has five. Each one bedroom apartment has its own entrance. All appliances, including a washer and dryer are provided in each unit. The units also feature high quality finishes and are completely furnished. The affordable monthly rent includes all utilities. The first tenants of Phase 1 of the project are members of Crossroads Clubhouse, a program for people living with long-term mental illness, and a partner in the project.
CMHC Contact Carla Staresina, (902) 426-8430,
[email protected] or another representative of CMHC’s Affordable Housing Centre http://www.cmhc.ca/en/corp/cous/cous_023.cfm Additional Information New Dawn Enterprises: http://www.newdawn.ca/ Crossroads Clubhouse: http://www.crossroadsclubhouse.org/ Department of Community Services: http://www.gov.ns.ca/coms/ Canadian Mental Health Association http://www.cmha.ca/
In addition to housing, residents of the SHIMI projects have access to a range of responsive supports that meet tenants’ needs. Peers, friends, families, health care workers and New Dawn tenancy representatives provide the main foundation of support for residents. SHIMI residents can access support services such as employment counselling, and food services and counselling which are provided by Crossroads Clubhouse.
Other communities in Nova Scotia have taken note of this innovative partnership and the project’s success, and are considering the SHIMI model as a way to provide supportive affordable housing for people living with mental illness.
