Overview
The Rising Strong program in Spokane, WA isn't scheduled to begin serving families until
April 2017, but its housing model and community partnerships are already well in place.
This new program is a collaboration between Catholic Charities Spokane and Empire
Health Foundation and is modeled after the Exodus Program (part of SHIELDS for
Families) in South Central Los Angeles and the OnTrack program in Medford, OR.
SHIELDS For Families CEO, Dr. Kathryn Icenhower, has been mentoring the program in
its formative stages. Rising Strong will provide a safe alternative for families at risk of
separation due to neglect stemming from parental substance use. It will offer treatment
services for parents, along with housing and wraparound support for the whole family.
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Summary of Innovative Program
Special Populations
Focusing on families at risk of removal due to parental substance use disorders, Rising
Strong will provide housing and substance use disorder treatment, along with a range of
supportive services for the entire family. By keeping the family together while
addressing addiction and its consequences, trauma is reduced for children and parents
are much more likely to succeed in treatment.
Program design began in 2014, and has included multiple site visits to model programs
and engaging outside subject matter expert organizations, such as SHIELDS for Families
and Children and Family Futures. This phase of the project was principally funded by
Empire Health Foundation, with a significant contribution from Providence Health Care
Community Benefits.
Program Replication Tips
A key feature of Rising Strong is its comprehensive housing plan that will create
affordable housing for its clients and the broader community. Situated on 15 acres of
land that was formerly home to a convent, and has since been acquired by Catholic
Charities, the program will initially pilot its services for 20 families (including 40-60
children) in the former convent's dormitory-style housing beginning in April 2017. The
convent is a well-maintained, 86-unit building with a flexible floorplan and many areas
for meals, treatment, and recreation. The location is only three miles from downtown
(near an express bus line) and adjacent to the community college and other important
services. However, recognizing that dormitory-style housing is not ideal for
strengthening families and promoting independence, by the summer of 2018, families
will be transitioned to 75 adjacent family apartments. Through tax-credit financing,
350+ affordable housing units are being developed to house families in the program, as
well as seniors and those with special needs. This will allow families the opportunity to
transition to long-term, affordable housing with housing vouchers following treatment.
Replication tips:
- Rather than starting from scratch, the program’s approach has been to identify
bright spots with proven success. This has led to a strong collaboration with
Shield for Families in Los Angeles.
- Its founding partners bring passion, but also resources and experience to the
project. Catholic Charities Spokane currently operates more than 1,000 units of
housing with supportive services, while Empire Health Foundation formed a
subsidiary (Family Impact Network) to manage parent-child visitations and other
services for Children's Administration.
- A wide and growing set of partners have been engaged as co-designers, including
Children's Administration, Family Court, Office of Public Defender, District
Attorney, Parent-Child Assistance Program, Medicaid managed care organizations
and others. The group is unified in its desire to expand the options for safely
changing outcomes for families.
Policy & Financing Strategies
Policy
Rising Strong’s approach to program design is governed by principles which together will
uniquely position it in the community:
- Allowing the family (as defined by the mother) to stay together or reunify to the
extent permitted by safety, including partners and all children regardless of age.
- It will not automatically exclude families on the basis of a single relapse. As David
Sheff puts it, "addiction is the only disease whose patients are refused treatment
for showing their symptoms."
- For families to recover and flourish they need more than just treatment - they
need affordable housing, education, employment, parenting skills development
and other resources.
Financing
The program has already achieved significant milestones on the path to sustainability:
- The property was acquired under favorable purchase terms, thanks to the
commitment of the Sisters of the Holy Names to our project.
- EHF made a program-related investment in the project in partnership with
Catholic Charities.
- The tax-credit proposal for Rising Strong housing was recently ranked number
one in the state by the Housing Finance Commission, which manages the
program.
For long-term sustainability, there are a number of significant funding opportunities
being explored, including:
- Billable services through Medicaid
- Medicaid waiver
- SAMSHA and other federal funding sources
- Pay for Success (Social Impact Bonds)
- Private philanthropy
Impact / Results
The program is still in the planning stage, so impact data is not yet available. However,
Rising Strong plans to build on proven, evidence-based models to offer a safe, more
effective alternative to separation for these families.
It will be cost effective in the short term, and provide exponentially greater benefits
over the long term. Most importantly, it will strengthen its community by addressing
issues of addiction, homelessness, and crime, now and for generations of families.
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