Community Support
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If you suffer from a Severe and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI) and have long-term psychiatric needs, you can receive long-term help through LFS' Community Support Program.

Community Support workers will help you find ways to live as independently as possible. We help you achieve stability within your community, improve your personal and community functioning, enhance your skill development, and increase your residential stability and other skills.

Participation in this program will:

• Enhance your ability to function independently in your community
• Facilitate your transition from a hospital to the community when possible
• Help you access appropriate services to maintain community living and to increase self-responsibility
• Decrease the frequency and duration of hospitalization
• Maximize your self-responsibility for medications and psychiatric appointments
• Help you coordinate all services necessary for successful community living
• Promote your long-term and stable community living

Eligibility Requirements

• Reside in Douglas, Sarpy, Cass, Washington or Dodge County in Nebraska
• Be 19 years of age or older
• Be diagnosed as having a Severe and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI) with moderate symptoms (GAF 31-60)
• Exhibit a high risk of relapse of a psychiatric crisis and a moderate risk of harm to yourself or others
• Exhibit a moderate to high need for external professional structure to manage your symptoms and to maintain a stable living arrangement in your community
• Have a stabilized condition so that daily intervention or contact is not required

Your Community Support Specialist will help you:

• Assess your community living needs, develop an individual service plan and update it as often as necessary
• Meet with you on a regular basis at a convenient location
• Assist you in identifying and accessing financial resources
• Advocate for you and assist in developing skills you need to obtain mental health services, medical and dental care, and other services
• Provide and/or help arrange the training necessary for successful community living such as cooking, budgeting and housekeeping skills.
• Assist you in working with any treatment staff if there is a hospitalization, and then working to facilitate your return to community living
• Participate in case conferences and any meetings held by providers or agencies with which you are involved
• Assist you with medical and psychiatric needs
• Help you find permanent housing
• Assist you with receiving Health & Human Services food stamps, general assistance, Social Security & Disability

Lutheran Family Services & Region 6 will determine fees for participants on an individual basis. This program is free of charge to those who qualify.

For more information or referral forms, please contact our Community Support Specialists in Omaha at (402) 342-7007. To be referred to the Community Support Program, a referral form must be completed by a social service professional. Social service professionals can fax referrals to (402) 661-7117.

Subsidy funds for this program are received from Region V Systems, Region VI Behavioral Healthcare and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.