The complicated business of setting up residential alternatives

To meet the housing needs of deinstitutionalized clients characterized by low incomes, isolation from their families, and inability to function independently, the Massachusetts Mental Health Center has developed a range of community residential settings. Among them are the independent living apartment program, partly supported by section 8 rent subsidies from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and group homes for 12 to 18 clients. Factors that have contributed to the success of the program include diligent cultivation of relationships with housing developers, innovative support from the staff of the state housing and finance agency, clear delineation of rights and responsibilities of tenants and owners, and the center's system of backup services for clients. The center is currently developing additional housing under HUD's section 202 demonstration program for housing of the handicapped through rehabilitation of existing buildings.