A study conducted by the Toronto District Health Council on housing and related housing supports for people with serious mental illness revealed the importance of community supports to help people both access and maintain their housing.
Key supports or services that were identified by consumers include:
- medical services available in-house or on-call (for crisis management and medication monitoring) homemaking and personal care services
- vocational training
- life skills training
- increased financial assistance
- housing advocates
Agency providers identified the following key factors which determine whether housing arrangements are successful for clients with serious mental illness:
- rent geared to income
- appropriate support services
- strong support network
- case management
Landlords indicated that with supports from community mental health agencies or families, they would be more willing to rent housing units to people with mental illness.