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MHS began operation of the Community Women’s Shelter on Saturday, 7 February 2004. Ninety staff members and volunteers helped with the move from the Cosgrove Center to the new Payne Avenue site. Susan Neth, who was Director of Homeless Services at that time, stated that "the transition was truly a community project. This was an affirmation of the community’s commitment to our homeless women and children."
Utilization of the shelter did not decrease as a result of the transition. Catholic Charities reported an average of 89 women and one child using the shelter each day during the week before the transition. The average nightly number of Shelter clients from 7 February to the end of March was 100.
As clients were assessed, we learned that more than half had a clinically-significant mental disorder. Dr. Cynthia Vrabel, the MHS Medical Director, also reported that there were a number of women who declined treatment, even though some had severe psychiatric disorders that resulted in profound deficits and prominent symptoms, and others had severe substance-use disorders, most often alcohol- and cocaine dependence. How to provide effective interventions for these women became a matter of intense discussion at MHS. One outcome of these discussion was the implementation of specialized services for women with severe substance-use disorders, made possible through a program grant ( # TI 16543) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. To learn about this colloborative program, click here.
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