Group Homes
Some women will choose to move on to the third floor Group Homes of N Street Village for longer-term supportive housing once they leave the night shelter. Here women enter into a lease agreement, paying a modest rent and living in a community of twenty peers.
Clients of the Group Homes continue in case management, either with an NSV case manager or an alternate community service provider. The goals of case management at this point are to assure that women have continued access to necessary resources such as disability insurance and medical care, adequate therapeutic and rehabilitative services, and the opportunity to attempt movement to an even higher level of independence if this is possible.
The women of the Group Homes participate in daily community meetings, cooperate with chore rotations and have a schedule of social events and outings that is coordinated by a resident volunteer.
Recovery Housing
Recovery Housing serves 21 women with addiction of dual diagnosis who are referred through linkage to the District of Columbia criminal justice system. This program is located on the fifth floor of our program building in two apartment units, one housing twelve women and the other nine. The larger apartment serves as Phase I of the program – Sarah House – and is the point of entry for most women. Clients in Sarah House are assigned to a case manager and they will begin the assessment and case planning process together. She will be given a daily schedule that corresponds to her needs and goals (for example, parenting classes will be assigned to a mother who has a goal of re-uniting with her children after ‘graduating’; or vocational counseling will be assigned to a woman who wishes to gain employment; or relaxation classes will be assigned for a women contending with anxiety since detoxification. Clients graduate from Sarah House, based upon approval by the staff and a ‘peer review’ team who will help the client assess her progress and readiness.
Many women will enter Phase II of the program – Harriet Tubman House –in the nine-bed apartment. The length of stay in Tubman House is targeted at 6 to 12 months. Here a woman continues with her individualized case plan and works with her case manager but will begin to have more freedom over her schedule and to spend more time in the community, for instance at a volunteer job placement or visiting with her children off-site. She will continue to use the health, mental health and social services of N Street, including parenting education, life skills training, and recovery classes. She will accelerate her work toward vocational goals, income and benefits stability and long-term housing stability. Graduation from Tubman House will be similarly determined by staff assessment and peer review team and may entail progression to our third phase of recovery housing or exit into the community as determined by the client’s needs and goals.
Transitional Housing
Our Transitional Housing Program accommodates twenty-one women in recovery from addiction. Here a woman is at a high level of independent living and is expected to manage her schedule and her activities of daily living with minimal assistance. Women in the Transitional Housing are usually employed or in school. They are expected to be continuing their involvement with AA/NA and the aftercare and mental health supports needed for their ongoing recovery.
They continue to have regular meetings and collective social events within their four or five person houses and their larger peer group. Women work with a case manager on a twice monthly basis (or more as needed) to receive help in gathering the resources and skills they require to move on to fully independent living. They receive guidance and assistance regarding housing, personal budgeting and banking, and educational/vocational or employment issues.
