Category: People

The beauty of the Housing First model is that, along with housing, residents receive the supports they need to begin a path towards health and well-being. In the graph below, you can see the comparison of utilization of health and justice services for individuals who live at Terrace – 6 months prior to moving in compared with 6 months after moving into a home. We know from experience that this is just the beginning of the journey for Terrace residents and that they will continue to reduce utilization of emergency health services and engagement with law enforcement the longer they are in housing.

Homelessness is expensive for the community. The table below shows the cost of homelessness prior to housing and post housing. An average unit cost was used to estimate reduced cost by category.

We also compared the individuals living in Terrace with the next 50 individuals who are waiting for permanent supportive housing. In the graph below, the individuals waiting for housing are purple and the people living in Terrace are green.

We are truly grateful for your support of this endeavor, and we thank you for following our journey, from groundbreaking through construction to our ribbon cutting to supporting our residents. The opening of Terrace at Oak Springs is the culmination of years of tireless work and advocacy – from Integral Care staff, elected officials, community foundations, business leaders, and neighbors.

We know that Terrace is just the first apartment community of its kind in Central Texas and will be a catalyst in our efforts to create and improve access to affordable housing.

On Monday, September 23, 2019, we celebrated Terrace at Oak Springs with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and a Community Celebration. 
At the Ribbon Cutting, we had the honor of unveiling our new permanent supportive housing community to 250 guests, a true testament to our community’s support of Housing First.

Our distinguished guests included Mayor Steve Adler; Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison; Trina Ita, Associate Commissioner of Behavioral Health Services at HHSC; Kurt Bruckbauer, Chief of Social Work Service at Central Texas Veterans Health Care System; and William Buster, Executive Vice President of Investments at St. David’s Foundation. 

Later that evening, more than 90 neighbors, community members, and exhibitors joined at our Community Celebration.

We are truly grateful for your support of this endeavor, and we thank you for following our journey, from groundbreaking through construction to our ribbon cutting. The opening of Terrace at Oak Springs is the culmination of years of tireless work and advocacy – from Integral Care staff, elected officials, community foundations, business leaders, and neighbors. 

We know that Terrace is just the first apartment community of its kind in Central Texas and will be a catalyst in our efforts to create and improve access to affordable housing.

Photos of Ribbon cutting

Photos of Community Event

We recently had the pleasure of meeting with a client, Tim, who has just settled into his new apartment home through the Healthy Community Collaborative.  We interviewed Tim to learn more about his story.

 

“I used to ride horses full time. In 2003, I was the National Champion in the hunter event. I was number one in the nation in jumping. I was injured – I had a broken bone in my foot, and I was unable to work for four years. I slowly went through every resource. I had to get rid of all of my horses and my car. Not being released to work for four years, I went through all of my money. I never expected to be living under a bridge, ever.

In the daytime, being homeless didn’t seem that bad.  But come 5 or 6 o’clock in the evening, anxiety would set in around the reality of the situation – where are you gonna go, where are you gonna be safe? I did not want to be downtown. Because of the broken bone in my foot, I was taking narcotics and I just didn’t want to go there. I went out on the edge of town and made myself a campsite. Then I found a treehouse and I stayed there. If I hadn’t been so depressed, it would have been a much more spiritual experience! Some of my best friends that I’ve known for 20 years stopped answering my calls. I found more kindness from strangers in Austin than I did from others I thought should have been there for me.

Then I became connected with Integral Care. I can’t even put into words what the housing case managers did for me. They were very professional and gave me really good advice. It was hard giving up control and having to trust a stranger at first. But they seemed like they really cared. They would meet with me at Target or places I had appointments to work with me. I took a coordinated assessment to get into housing. The case managers also helped me get my disability in six weeks. This program has really saved my life. Now it’s up to me to keep things moving forward.

 

Now that I have housing, my toughest decision is which shirt is going to fit me best. It’s a big difference!

I like my new place because it’s mine. Staying with friends or family, even in the best situation, you don’t have your own space. You don’t feel comfortable. It’s really hard. My plan now is to return to work. I think that will help with my depression. I could teach gymnastics, or I could cut hair.

 

I never thought that I would know so many homeless people and have something in common with them, and understand what they’re up against. You can get out of that hole. It’s up to you. The services are there, you just have to take the next step.”

Integral Care offers a solution for veterans experiencing homelessness and mental health challenges:  Safe Haven.

Safe Haven provides a safe living environment for veterans staffed by a team of professionals who inspire confidence and guidance to residents with mental illness.  The community offers semi-private rooms with capacity for up to 15 people a day. Individuals are provided with three daily meals, laundry facilities, meeting rooms, an address and a telephone number that can be used by residents. Safe Haven has a flexible and individualized approach to care and acknowledges that “successful outcomes” are unique to each veteran.

“It’s very peaceful here. The food they give you is substantial and has improved my health. They give you your medicine on time and make sure you get the correct amount. The staff here is very friendly.”

Safe Haven guarantees a living environment for veterans with qualified staff who inspire confidence and guidance to residents with mental illness. Individuals are provided with three daily meals, laundry facilities, meeting rooms, an address and a telephone number that can be used by residents. The facility also includes a common area with reading nook and TV, a space for perusing donated items, kitchen, community service assistance area, a backyard, which many use for daily meditation and yoga, and an arts and crafts space.

Safe Haven staff embrace the philosophy that residents shape their own unique recovery journeys. There is no mandated programming. The fundamental requirement of residents is that they keep themselves, peers and staff safe. Staff enjoy connecting the people who live there with their own personal interests, from practicing Tai Chi to karaoke. Developing individualized interests in this way helps link residents to activity communities which foster independence after graduation from the shelter.

Many of the residents are creative and engage in painting, writing, playing music and singing. One resident painted a colorful mural in a hallway depicting fifteen horses, which represented each of the 15 residents. Another resident, Jason, is in the process of writing a book and speaks fondly about his 6-month stay at Safe Haven.

“It’s very peaceful here,” says Jason. He continues, “The food they give you is substantial and has improved my health. They give you your medicine on time and make sure you get the correct amount. The staff here is very friendly, which encourages the veterans to be very talkative amongst themselves. I can drink coffee and write. I’ve been going to the gym. I’ve read much about my schizoaffective disorder while living here, which has improved my morale. The staff was able to increase my veteran benefits check, so I’m able to graduate and move into an apartment soon. I encourage anyone who is a homeless veteran to stay here.”

An individual graduates from Safe Haven once they have obtained a safe, stable place to call home. Most residents leave with increased health benefits and income, whether it’s increased social security benefits, VA pension or disability benefits. Former residents are always invited back to celebrate holidays.

Check out our #OkayToSay  short video series of Integral Care staff sharing their thoughts on why it’s important to talk about mental illness.