Affiliations: Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation & Counseling Professions, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Stratford, NJ, USA | Triple C Housing, Inc., Monmouth Junction, NJ, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Ni Gao, Ph.D., LCSW, Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation & Counseling Professions, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, 40 East Laurel Road, Suite 2105, Stratford, NJ 08084, USA. Tel.: +1 856 566 2770/Cell: +1 609 206 2432; Fax: +1 856 566 6820; E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: Supportive housing programs are highly effective in reducing recidivism and preventing homelessness among individuals with serious mental illness. However, supportive housing programs have not focused on increasing employment outcomes among consumers residing in their programs. In addition, creating organizational commitment among supportive housing providers towards improving consumer employment outcomes remains a major challenge. This article describes how an agency made an organizational transformation from providing traditional housing services to developing an in-house supported employment service, and successfully increased consumer competitive employment rates from 13% to 54% within two years. The organizational change strategies and interventions that can be generalized to other housing providers are discussed.
Keywords: Organizational change, disabilities, supportive housing and employment
