PREVENTING RECURRENT HOMELESSNESS AMONG MENTALLY-ILL MEN - A CRITICALTIME INTERVENTION AFTER-DISCHARGE FROM A SHELTER

Objectives. This study examined a strategy to prevent homelessness amo ng individuals with severe mental illness by providing a bridge betwee n institutional and community care. Methods. Ninety-six men with sever e mental illness who were entering community housing from a shelter in stitution were randomized to receive 9 months of a ''critical time'' i ntervention plus usual services or usual services only. The primary an alysis compared the mean number of homeless nights for the two groups during the 18-month follow-up period, To elucidate time trends, surviv al curves were used. Results. Over the 18-month follow-up period, the average number of homeless nights was 30 for the critical time interve ntion group and 91 for the usual services group, Survival curves showe d that after the 9-month period of active intervention, the difference between the two groups did not diminish. Conclusions. Strategies that focus on a critical time of transition may contribute to the preventi on of recurrent homelessness among individuals with mental illness, ev en after the period of active intervention.