COMPASS HEALTH

<div>Compass Health's Supportive Housing program provides safe, affordable housing located in Island, Skagit, and Snohomish Counties.&nbsp; We currently own and/or manage 155 units of housing with a total of 233 bedrooms, including three to four bedroom shared homes and individual apartments located throughout the three counties.&nbsp; The homes and apartments provided are in safe neighborhoods close to mental health services, bus lines, and grocery stores.&nbsp; Our housing program provides both transitional and permanent supported housing to individual adults, male and female, ages 18 and older that have chronic mental illness.&nbsp; These individuals have incomes at or below 30% of the county annual median income with many falling below the Federal Poverty Guidelines.&nbsp; Participants come from all&nbsp;cultural and ethnic backgrounds.&nbsp; Most of the individuals who enter the program meet the federal definition for homelessness.</div>

<div>The ultimate change the Compass Health Housing pgoram provides is moving individuals from homelessness to housing and providing the necessary services to help keep them housed and stable.&nbsp; The long term goal will be to increase our housing options, provide life skills training and connect tenants with employment services to help them continue their recovery and ability to live successfully in the community.</div>

<div>Compass Health hired a Property Management company in 2010 which has helped stabilize the financial and compliance issues related to publicly funded housing.&nbsp; With this change, the housing department has been able to focus on consumer satisfaction and stability.&nbsp; We have been able to decrease evictions and a return to homelessness and have provided case managers with housing resources so they can assist their clients in their recovery.</div>

<div>Compass Health knows when our housing program is working when we achieve the following:</div> <ul><li>Helping participants obtain and remain in permanent housing</li><li>Helping participants increase skills and/or income</li><li>Helping participants achieve greater self-determiniation and self-confidence.</li></ul> <p>We know the program is not working when we have an increase in evictions; drug and alcohol abuse and our tenants are not achieving their goals toward self determination.</p>

Over the past 12 months Compass Health has provided the following housing options due to partnerships in the community and through our housing. <ul><li>Provided 27 individuals with Emergency Shelter Funds (a program which helps fund motel stays to get people off the streets)&nbsp;</li><li>Assisted 23 homeless individuals by giving them a monthly $400 voucher towards their rent, these funds are part of the Ending Homeless Program through Snohomish County.&nbsp;</li><li>Assisted approximately 135 people with their rent through Compass Health sponsorship and participation in the&nbsp;Snohomish County&nbsp;Shelter Plus Care program.&nbsp;</li><li>Assisted 7 people in Island County via the Island County Shelter Plus Care program.&nbsp;</li><li>Assisted 25 people through the Skagit County 2163 Funds program which provides $400 towards their rent.&nbsp;</li><li>Provided 209 units of housing for people struggling with mental illness.</li></ul> <p>&nbsp;Joe (not his real name) was placed in Compass Health&#8217;s housing in September 2009.&nbsp;Joe had been homeless for eight months before coming to the top of the Compass Health waitlist.&nbsp;In addition to being homeless, Joe was battling with chemical dependency issues and mental health issues.&nbsp;During his episode of homelessness, Joe was admitted to the hospital after experiencing extreme psychotic symptoms.&nbsp;He stabilized on his medication and was released to the streets.&nbsp;He maintained his stability and his sobriety while waiting for his chance at housing.&nbsp;The time finally came when the housing department was able to offer him a place to live.&nbsp;He was extremely cooperative throughout the entire process.&nbsp;Initially, he was denied housing because of a felony that was on his record from 2007.&nbsp;He appealed the decision, stated his case, and won the appeal.&nbsp;He moved in to Compass Health&#8217;s Oakes House shortly afterward.&nbsp;He is still living there and is doing very well.&nbsp;He continues to maintain his sobriety and is stable on his medication.&nbsp;He has a wonderful relationship with both his case manager and the housing department.&nbsp;If Compass was not able to offer him housing when they did, Joe may not have held out on the streets much longer Compass looks forward to providing Joe housing for many years to come while supporting his recovery efforts.</p>