Community Support
Services promoting health, housing, autonomy, and community participation.

Clients who participate in CPST services at MHS are adults who are homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless, have a severe mental disability, and are not currently participating in similar services at another community mental health agency. Services defined by the Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH) as Community Psychiatric Supportive Treatment (CPST) comprise ten activities designed to promote mental health recovery, and help clients live as independent members of their community.

Darilynn Beiler, (at right) is Program Manager of CPST services. She supports and coordinates the work of ten social workers.

CPST staff members work jointly with clients to develop an Individualized Service Plan that is used to organize, guide, and monitor services. The goals and action steps of this plan begin at the level at which the client can successfully accomplish them. Because most clients have no income or health insurance at the time of intake, CPST staff members assist clients to apply for Medicaid or Medicare, Supplemental Security Income, and veteran's benefits. The Social Security Administration may choose to have MHS act as the representative payee for income benefits. Clients then work with CPST staff members to formulate a budget, and learn skills for the management of their income.

Medicaid, private donations, grants from ODMH, and funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development fund community support services. The Cuyahoga County Community Mental Health Board (CCCMHB) administers Medicaid and ODMH funding, and evaluates our services each year. The CCCMHB is responsible for developing the county's community mental health plan, and for establishing a system of treatment for mentally ill persons.

The Housing Coordinator is a specialized CPST worker who identifies and helps develop housing resources – usually single or two-bedroom apartments. The Housing Coordinator visits clients after they move to monitor the cleanliness and safety of their housing, and their mental status. This position is funded, in part, from a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, administered by the Cleveland and Cuyahoga County Office of Homeless Services.

CPST worker caseloads are intentionally kept small so that workers can devote sufficient attention to the needs and concerns of their clients. Each CPST worker at MHS generally maintains a caseload of 15 to 20 clients. As new staff members acquire skills and expertise, they are assigned clients until their caseloads reach capacity. Individual cases are kept open until clients stabilize to the extent that they can be transitioned to an ongoing community mental health agency. All CPST staff members meets weekly with the CPST Program Manager and Medical Director to review referrals made to the CPST department. MHS strives to ensure that clients identified as most in need are provided with immediate access to services.

Some members of our professional staff who serve as CPST workers are shown below.

Aileen Lazuka provides community psychiatric supportive treatment services for homeless adults who participate in the Safe Haven III program.

Jean Moran-Hadden provides community psychiatric supportive treatment services for homeless adults who have severe mental disabilities.

To learn about other MHS programs providing coordinated care
for homeless persons with disabilities, click on the links below.

Copyright ©
Mental Health Services for Homeless Persons, Inc. (MHS)
1744 Payne Avenue; Cleveland, Ohio 44114 U.S.A.
216-623-6555 - TTY/TDD: 216-623-6540

The URL of this page is
http://www.mhs-inc.org/CommunitySupport.asp
It was most recently updated on 1 February 2007.
We welcome your comments.
Please write to Joel[at]mhs-inc.org