Hearth Connection Productivity Model

Hearth Connection Productivity Model Kelby Grovender, Director of Programs Ben Van Hunnik, Director of Information Research and Evaluation

Who are we serving? • MI • CD • TBI • Other physical disabilities • Chronic health conditions • Age • History of Institutionalization and no work or productivity expectation

Hearth Connection We do great with: • Housing • Income supports • Health Care • Recovery Our service model has not traditionally emphasized employment or productivity

Vast majority of our participants do not have consistent employment histories or marketable skills. Less than 21% of our participants achieve either part- or full-time employment.

Some people believe this is because our participants are too scarred by histories of trauma, domestic violence, childhood abuse, mental illness, addictions and chronic health conditions.

Why focus on Productivity and Employment? • HUD focusing more on earned income • Employment is one of the Strategies from the Minnesota Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness • Employment is one of the Topic-Specific Plans of the Minnesota Olmstead Plan But the most important reason for us to focus on this issue is…

…it is good for the participant!

What does the research say? Participants do not want to be idle(Developing Community Employment Pathways for Homeless Job Seekers in King County and Washington State, 2007) • Clients are extremely motivated to work. Financial rewards from work are rarely the primary motivation, yet they are often the deal breaker (Work it out: Barriers to Employment for Homeless People, New Economics Foundation 2008) citation

Human Nature • Allows for creativity, an essential part of being human • Gives meaning to life • Involves a personal value: bringing dignity to the individual • Forms the foundation of community life

Programs that serve this population may best benefit their client by ensuring that the emphasis places on productivity and employment is equal to that placed on housing and symptom reduction Vocational Outcomes Among Formerly Homeless Persons with Severe Mental Illness in the ACCESS Program Psychiatr Serv. 2001 Aug;52(8):1075-80

So what should we do? We currently emphasize • Housing • Healthcare • Income supports • Client specific goals (sometimes includes employment goals)

So what should we do different? • Housing • Healthcare • Income supports • Client specific goals • Productivity and Employment

Productivity whiteboardWhat Are People Doing? People are involved in a variety of productive activities that are not employment: • Volunteering • Hobbies • Cash jobs • Arts

Initial Input from Provider NetworkLearning Session

How do we get started? Primary focus of the initial program : • Vocationalizing current programing • Short interventions • Script for discussing movement towards productivity and employment

Vocationalizing Creating opportunities for employment begins on day one of staff interaction with a tenant, involves building systems of engagement that start with a tenant’s individualized needs, and extends to the everyday culture of work promoted in the supportive housing environment. Such strategies support “vocationalizing” the housing environment, infusing the housing environment with the expectations and norms of employment. CSH Toolkit for Connecting Supportive Housing Tenants to Employment

Vocationalizing • Participants are asked about their job-related skills and productivity goals at intake • Participantsare informed, verbally and in writing, of the productivity and employment resources and opportunities available to them • Support groups and other activities around productivity and employment issues are attended by Participants.

Educating teams • On the importance of productivity and employment • Health status improves just by being employed* • Participants want to work National Health Care for the Homeless Council Webcast: Integrating Employment Strategies into Supportive Housing Programs July, 2012

Productivity “The pieces needed for employment and job retention – like self-esteem and life skills development - are usually the same pieces needed for recovery, and that measuring success based purely on job placement is therefore counterproductive” Corporation for Supportive Housing: A Coordinated Approach to Services and Employment June 2008

Self-Sufficiency MatrixMeasuring productivity and employment Fill in the space between 1 and 2

Hearth Connection Productivity Tool • Objective: To provide case managers with a structured way of discussing productivity and employment with participants • Goal: Increase participants productivity and employment

Hearth Connection Productivity Tool Objective: To provide case managers with a structured way of discussing productivity and employment with participants Goal: Increase participants productivity and employment Guidelines for filling out this form are located on the back/second page Participant Name: _______________ Date: __

Administer Productivity tool at intake and at least every six months

Focus on the most prominent “productive” activity for the participant.

Note the activity they are engaged in if applicable

Use this form to initiate further conversations with the participant • If participant shows interest add productivity to their goal plan.

If further conversations about productivity and employment occurred make notation.

Guiding Principles Productivity • Focus on activities that have an effect on someone else, not just life skills. Examples: Producing Art and showing it to others; knitting and giving away or selling the product; volunteering at food shelves, school, humane society etc.

Guiding Principles Productivity • Productivity can include “under the table” work, but not illegal work. In other words if they were doing the same activity as an employee the activity would be legal. Examples: House Painting, Snow Shoveling, making and selling jewelry

Guiding Principles Employment • Reportable income (Will receive a W2)

Anita Anita has some artistic abilities. In the past she did a lot of drawing and some painting. She has not done either in many years due to her MI/CD and unstable housing. She sometimes talks about getting back into doing her artwork.

Anita Objective: To provide case managers with a structured way of discussing productivity and employment with participants Goal: Increase participants productivity and employment Guidelines for filling out this form are located on the back/second page Participant Name: _______________ Date: __

James • James lives in an apartment complex and gets along well with the landlord. He sometimes helps with yard work or shoveling and the landlord pays him cash.

James Objective: To provide case managers with a structured way of discussing productivity and employment with participants Goal: Increase participants productivity and employment Guidelines for filling out this form are located on the back/second page Participant Name: _______________ Date: __

Harvey Harvey is significantly impaired by his mental illness. He does not often leave his apartment and has little interaction with others. His conversation is usually focused around his own needs and symptoms.

Harvey Objective: To provide case managers with a structured way of discussing productivity and employment with participants Goal: Increase participants productivity and employment Guidelines for filling out this form are located on the back/second page Participant Name: _______________ Date: __

June June has several medical conditions that require her to make regular appointments with her doctor. In the past she was often a no-show. Through working with her case manager she is now attending her appointments on a regular basis.

June Objective: To provide case managers with a structured way of discussing productivity and employment with participants Goal: Increase participants productivity and employment Guidelines for filling out this form are located on the back/second page Participant Name: _______________ Date: __

Benny Benny has been working cash jobs around the community for some time. He has now applied for a job at Home Depot.

Benny Objective: To provide case managers with a structured way of discussing productivity and employment with participants Goal: Increase participants productivity and employment Guidelines for filling out this form are located on the back/second page Participant Name: _______________ Date: __

Next Steps

Our mission is to build relationships, resources, infrastructure and understanding so that no one in Minnesota remains homeless, and people who were homeless can prosper.

Hearth Connection Productivity Model