Transitioning to new housing or sustaining current housing can be challenging, but Vista Care Health Services is here to make the process smoother. Our housing transitioning and sustainment service is designed to provide guidance and support throughout the housing journey. Whether it involves finding suitable housing, adjusting to a new living environment, or maintaining housing stability, our team is dedicated to ensuring a seamless experience. You can count on us to navigate the complexities of housing transitions, making it easier for individuals and families to find and maintain a safe and comfortable place to call home.
Housing Stabilization Services is a Medical Assistance (MA) benefit that helps people with disabilities and seniors find and keep housing. It is for people who are experiencing homelessness, at risk of homelessness, at risk of institutionalization, or living in an institution or some types of group settings, including ICF-DDs, nursing facilities, Adult Foster Care, and Board and Lodge. Read this article to learn more about Housing Stabilization Services or watch a short video about how it works.
What it Offers
There are three types of Housing Stabilization Services:
1. Housing transition services: A housing transition services provider (a person or agency) helps a person plan for, find, and move into housing.
- Examples: Helping the person think about preferred housing; with the housing search and application processes; developing a budget; and understanding a lease.
- Important: You do not need a source of housing funding, income, or job in order to get housing transition services.
2. Housing sustaining services: A housing sustaining services provider (a person or agency) helps a person keep their housing after they have moved in.
- Examples: Education on tenant-landlord rights and responsibilities; coaching to develop relationships with property managers and neighbors; training on how to be a good tenant; lease compliance; and problem-solving to maintain housing stability.
3. Housing consultation: A housing consultant helps a person who doesn’t have MA case management develop a person-centered plan that addresses their needs, wants, and goals for living in the community.
- Examples: Developing a housing focused person-centered plan based on the person’s needs, wants, and goals for housing; helping a person make an informed choice in their housing transition or sustaining services provider; offering resources related to non-housing goals; and coordinating with other service providers already working with the person.
Note: Housing Stabilization Services do not pay for housing or goods.
Who It Helps
To get Housing Stabilization Services, you must:
- Have Medical Assistance (MA) coverage
- Be 18 or older
- Have a disability
- Your disability does not have to meet Social Security’s adult standards for disability. Disabilities can include physical disabilities, mental illness, substance use disorder, and other conditions.
- The program manual has details about which types of disability may qualify.
- Be in one of the following situations:
- Experiencing homelessness
- At risk of homelessness (including being doubled up, needing services to keep your housing, or you experienced homelessness in the past and now are being discharged from a correctional, medical, mental health, or substance use disorder treatment center without a permanent place to live)
- Moving out of (or moved out of in the last six months) an institution, nursing facility, or certain other group settings like Board and Lodge or Adult Foster Care, or
- At risk of institutionalization.
- Be assessed to need help with at least one of these disability-related areas:
- Communication
- Mobility
- Decision-making, or
- Managing moods or behaviors
- Not be getting similar services from other programs, like Moving Home MN’s transition services, Assertive Community Treatment, or Relocation Service Coordination.
How to Get Services
1. Get an Assessment
If you have MA coverage, you need to get an assessment to see if you qualify for Housing Stabilization Services.
You can get an assessment from:
- A qualified professional, like a mental health professional, nurse practitioner, or doctor
- A certified assessor (with a MnCHOICES assessment or Long-Term Care Consultation)
- A senior care coordinator (includes Minnesota Senior Health Options (MSHO) and Minnesota Senior Care Plus (MSC+) care coordinators), or
- A coordinated entry assessor.
2. Make a Person-Centered Plan
If the assessment shows that Housing Stabilization Services would help you, the next step is to get help making or updating a person-centered plan.
The person who did your assessment may not be the same person who helps with the person-centered plan:
- If you have a MA-Waiver case manager, MSHO/MSC+ care coordinator, senior care coordinator, or Moving Home Minnesota case manager, that person will help you update your plan to include Housing Stabilization Services.
- If you have a targeted case manager, that person will help you complete your plan.
- If you don’t have any of these people helping you, you can get help making a housing-focused, person-centered plan from a registered housing consultant. MinnesotaHelp.info can help you find a housing consultant in your area.
No matter who helps you with your person-centered plan, you get to decide which provider will help you with housing transition or housing sustaining services. The provider you pick will be included in the person-centered plan.
3. Get Approved
Then, your assessment, proof of disability, and person-centered plan are sent to the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) for approval. Once you are approved, you can start getting your housing transition or sustaining services.
Note: If you don’t have MA, you need to apply for it before you can ask for Housing Stabilization Services.
