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The purpose of this program is to offer resources to the unsheltered and homeless population in the Central Texas and Austin, Texas area providing education resources, community safety techniques, medication management techniques, housing resources, and social participation education to those in need.

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The purpose of this program is to offer resources to the unsheltered and homeless population in the Central Texas and Austin, Texas area providing education resources, community safety techniques, medication management techniques, housing resources, and social participation education to those in need.

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We expect that if accomplished these activities will lead to the following changes in 7-10 years:

Decrease in the amount of homeless people in the Central Texas area.

Increased resources available to the unsheltered and homeless providing safety for this population.

Increased opportunities for the homeless and unsheltered to be involved in the community.

Increased knowledge of medical resources preventing this population from experiencing life-threatening conditions.

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In order to accomplish our set of activities we will need the following:

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In order to accomplish our set of activities we will need the following:

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We expect that once accomplished these activities will produce the following evidence or service delivery:

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We expect that once accomplished these activities will produce the following evidence or service delivery:

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-Increased community safety for those who are unsheltered

-Increased health literacy and medication management

-Increased mental health outcomes for those experiencing mental health conditions

-Increased participation in ADL's

-70% participation for each participant in group sessions

- at least 20% of participants finding secure housing

- 80% of participants receiving education on resources available to them and how to access them.

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Staff: Occupational therapists to deliver skilled services and recommendations, create treatment activities, and provide resources to the consumers.

We will also need at least 1 volunteer per group session to provide additional staffing and hands-on assistance.

Consumers: The homeless population in the Austin, Tx area.

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Facilities: Our program will take place in local community facilities that are free of charge to access for the consumers such as local churches, YMCAs, Salvation Army centers, or other available community facilities.

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First Aid Kit: At least one first aid kit should be available to be prepared for potential emergency needs.

Education materials: The occupational therapists should provide educational brochures and print outs with strategies and resources available to the consumers.

Participation materials:

50 pens should be available for each session to encourage participation

25 notepads/notebooks should be available to the consumers to encourage note-taking, journaling, or creative freedom.

Tables/Chairs: 30 chairs to have a seat for every participant and for the staff, 6 long tables.

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Increased conflict resolution: Within the first year, we expect that our participants will have increased social skills that will lead to an increase in conflict resolution. The ability to resolve conflicts with others will lead to community safety and relationship building.

Increased health literacy: People who experience homelessness typically have decreased health literacy and advocacy for themselves with the medical field. We aim to increase our clients knowledge of their own conditions and how to manage them within the first 2 years.

Increased ADL's: Within the first few months we aim to see an increase in ADL performance and engagement by practice in group therapy and setting up our population with resources necessary to care for their own self-care tasks. We aim to see sustainability with ADL's within the first 3 years.

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Increased quality of life: Following group sessions and continued community safety with people who experience homelessness, we aim to see an increase in quality of life and satisfaction with our participants per self report or questionnaire.

Increased Social Participation: We aim to see an increase in social participation with relationship forming, relationships sustaining, initiating conversation with bosses or doctors, and advocating for them selves for resources.

Sustained Occupational Engagement: Finally, we aim to see an overall increase in occupational engagement for all clients after 6 year of our program. Not only should clients experience an increase in engagement, but maintain a satisfactory level of engagement to avoid a place of occupational deprivation that many who experience homelessness have experienced.

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Statistics Related to Unsheltered Population

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Statistics Related to Unsheltered Population

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There were an estimated 653,104 individuals who were unsheltered in the U.S. in 2023, which is a 12% increase from 2022 to 2023. The latest point-in-time (PIT) count, completed each year by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), shows the greatest increase of Americans that are unsheltered since the count began in 2007 (NAEH, 2023).

Identified Needs

Individuals who are unsheltered experience higher rates of mental health disorders (MHD), substance abuse disorders (SUD), and various chronic and acute physical health conditions than the general population. Due to the unique risk factors involved, the life expectancy of unsheltered individuals is estimated to be 30 years shorter than that of those who have access to health care and the other resources the average American has (Fleury et al., 2021).

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Austin Public Health Homeless Assistance. (n.d.) AustinTexas. Retrieved March 2, 2024, from https://www.austintexas.gov/department/austin-public-health-homeless-assistance#:~:text=Through%20our%20partnerships%2C%20Austin%20Public,planning%20with%20the%20Ending%20Community

Resources for those experiencing homelessness. AustinTexas.gov. (n.d.). https://www.austintexas.gov/department/resources-those-experiencing-homelessness

Fleury, M. J., Grenier, G., Sabetti, J., Bertrand, K., Clément, M., & Brochu, S. (2021). Met and unmet needs of homeless individuals at different stages of housing reintegration: A mixed-method investigation. PloS one, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245088

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Community Donations: We will accept donations from the community for money as well as materials that we can use in our program such as pens, notebooks, education materials, etc.

Possible Grant Funding: The Ending Community Homeless Coalition provides funding and partnerships with local services to assist in program deliverance (Austin Public Health Homeless Assistance, n.d.).

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Caritas of Austin provides housing, food, educational, career, and other supportive services.

Mobile Loaves and Fishes provides food, clothing, hygiene products, and housing.

Front Steps Housing Programs offers transitional and affordable permanent housing.

Austin Public Health provides free and low-cost health services (AustinTexas, n.d.)

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Advocate and contact your policymakers about new bills like the Mental Health Parity Act, that would include OT's as a mental health care provider to improve outcomes for those who experience mental illness. This could also allow OT's to become involved more untraditional settings like a homeless shelter.

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Advocate and contact schools to incorporate untraditional fieldwork settings to be a requirement of OT schooling. Exposing OT students to a variety of settings and needs will support the future of OT to develop more well rounded practitioners and more available for places like homeless shelters.

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All participants will meet a total of 3x per week. Each week, the program will facilitate 2 group therapy sessions and 1 educational session. Prior to the program's start date, each participant will be evaluated and screened by OTs to determine their specific needs. These identified needs will then be specifically addressed during the educational classes.

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ADL training: Participants will learn different techniques for involvement in grooming and hygiene practices, with a focus on adaptations and modifications for individuals with a physical or cognitive deficit. Dressing, maintenance, and storage of clothing items look different for individuals who are unsheltered. Specific strategies and tools to perform activities related to dressing and clothing will be taught based on unique client factors.

Health Literacy: At the end of this class, community-based primary care physicians will provide participants with on-site health exams.

Social Participation: Participants will learn the importance of having a sense of love and belonging has on one's overall health. Conflict resolution with peers, adherence to social norms, code-switching and proper conduct within various settings will also be addressed.

Medication Management: Participants will learn about different resources within the community that help individuals gain free and equitable access to the medications they need. The importance of taking medication as directed, storage and organization techniques, and different ways to access the directions on the bottle are a few examples that will be discussed during this topic.

Mental Health: Common mental health disorders and their corresponding treatment options will be discussed. Participants will learn about different options for counseling services and the types of therapies available.

Substance Abuse: Participants will be given resources from community-based substance abuse support groups. Topics to be discussed include substance abuse disorder (SAD), the impact genetics, PTSD, and trauma have on SAD, ways to combat cravings, and the effects SAD has on other co-occurring disorders such as mental health disorders.

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Sessions will provide individuals with the opportunity to practice strategies they learned during the educational classes. Individuals will engage in peer-to-peer support, problem-solving, and self-exploration while the therapist engages in a facilitative role.