While Lincoln Place is not like regular apartment complexes, there are still rules, a lease to be followed and a line that when crossed can lead to people being kicked out. If a resident becomes a danger to staff or other residents they’ll be asked to leave. In those cases, repeated interventions can’t de-escalate violent behaviors.
“When do you say ‘we can’t provide services to you?’ I like that to be infrequent. I like that to be really rare,” said Olivia Resnick, Share’s Housing First director overseeing the supportive housing facility.
While Share can put in lots of supports such as reminding people to take medications and having nursing aides prepare meals or medications, there are people who still cannot meet their own basic needs. Everyone has a case manager, but Lincoln Place isn’t meant to provide one-on-one care, Resnick said.
For people who couldn’t keep their housing, such as Kedrik Thomas, the only resident to be evicted, the path forward is not clearly defined. For many, Lincoln Place was it. It was the place that would accept them.
“It’s a big challenge because I don’t think there are enough diverse resources to provide housing opportunity to everyone to the level of care that they need,” Resnick said.
There is not another Housing First complex in the works locally. Those who aren’t successful at Lincoln Place may find success at one of Share’s scattered site Housing First units that are (as the name goes) located at private apartments throughout the area. And, Columbia Non-Profit Housing is working on a 30-unit apartment complex called Meriwether Place that would house homeless people with mental health issues.
“Some of these things will still be an issue there. None of these are treatment facilities, they’re housing facilities,” said Roy Johnson, executive director of Vancouver Housing Authority. “For some individuals the treatment facility is the correct place.”
Getting people into treatment facilities comes with its own set of complications separate from the world of supportive housing. But were those people who need treatment able to get treatment and stabilize, they may be able to live at Lincoln Place in the future. Share already has a couple of people in mind.
“We’ve lost a couple in there that if you could back up time perhaps we could’ve done it differently and they’d still be there — not for certain,” said Eric Johnson, Key Property Services president. “That’s what we keep doing is looking for ways to address things differently, so that we limit that number. Once they walk out that door, there really aren’t a whole lot of great options for them.”
That’s where Resnick thinks mental health and substance abuse services are particularly critical to the ongoing success of Lincoln Place. She’s working on behavior plans for clients. And, Share aims to hire a behavioral health specialist to work with residents and staff. That could help the staff deal with psychotic episodes and better communicate with tenants.
“I want the community to view us in a good light. I want to prove to them that it works and it’s needed in our community and it’s a benefit in our community,” Resnick said. “People will not only be OK with it and comfortable with it, but they’re going to support additional Lincoln Places.”
