Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance Unveils Housing Toolkit to Help Those with Serious Mental Illness Find a Home
A first-of-its-kind guide helping people with SMI and their families understand housing options, assess needs, and find a clearer path to a safe, stable home.
ALEXANDRIA, VA, UNITED STATES, November 24, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance (S&PAA) today announced the release of their "We Need Housing! Now What?" Toolkit. The resource is a groundbreaking, lived-experience–built tool designed to help families, caregivers, clinicians, and community providers navigate one of the most overwhelming and under-supported aspects of serious mental illness: securing safe, sustainable housing.
This high-impact, practical toolkit is the first nationwide guide of its kind—built by S&PAA, informed by people with lived experience, and grounded in the real conditions families face every day. For the millions of individuals living with schizophrenia or psychosis, securing stable, appropriate housing is one of the clearest predictors of recovery. Yet the pathway to finding it is a seemingly impossible, frustrating maze that often doesn't yield a viable solution.
“People in recovery and their families tell us time and again that housing is the most distressing part of this journey—confusing options for how to find, assess, and meet the needs of the individual in recovery; inconsistent state supports; long waitlists; and no clear roadmap,” said Gordon Lavigne, CEO of S&PAA. “We built this Housing Toolkit to change that. This resource finally gives people a way forward.”
One Toolkit. Four Essential Guides. Answers Families Need.
The Housing Toolkit breaks down the most critical pieces of the housing journey into an approachable, step-by-step format:
1. Understanding Your Loved One’s Situation
A guided assessment to help families determine the level of support, supervision, and clinical structure a person may need—featuring clear worksheets, real-world examples, and questions families can use with clinicians and case managers.
2. Housing in Your State: What Exists—and What Doesn’t
A plain-language guide to state systems, public services, mental health departments, housing authorities, and local resources, demystifying long and short term housing options.
3. Financial Pathways
A full breakdown of what families can and cannot rely on financially—from Medicaid and Medicare considerations to SSI/SSDI, private pay scenarios, grants, case management supports, and what’s realistically covered.
4. Building Your Plan
A practical, lived-experience–tested workbook that guides families through documentation, touring facilities, safety and crisis protocols, discharge planning, and final decision-making.
Together, these components offer the most comprehensive housing support resource available today for people living with schizophrenia and psychosis or other serious mental illness. It's built on lived experience and designed for everyone who touches the housing journey.
The Housing Toolkit is designed for use across the full ecosystem of care:
• Families & Caregivers: A reliable, clear, compassionate roadmap through an otherwise impossible system.
• Clinicians & Social Workers: A tool to use during care sessions, discharge planning, and transitions.
• Community Mental Health Providers: A reference they can share with clients and families.
• Policy & Advocacy Partners: Evidence of systemic gaps—and a blueprint for what stable housing should look like.
• Individuals with Lived Experience: Tools for self-advocacy and informed participation in their own housing decisions.
Phase 1 Now — and a Glimpse of What’s Coming Next
Today’s Housing Toolkit is Phase 1 in S&PAA’s long-term effort to transform housing navigation nationwide.
Phase 2, launching in 2026, will introduce S&PAA’s upcoming Housing Search Engine—a dynamic, filterable tool allowing individuals and families to:
• Search housing options by level of support,
• Filter by state regulations,
• Explore eligibility requirements,
• Compare facilities, features, and services,
• Identify housing that matches their unique situation and needs.
This nationwide tool will be free, and designed around the same lived-experience framework as the toolkit.
“This is just the beginning,” added Lavigne. “The housing search engine will take this work even further—giving people in recovery and their families the ability to navigate options with clarity, dignity, and real-time information.”
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Availability
The Housing Toolkit is available for free download at:
?? www.sczaction.org/toolkits/housing-resources
Anyone—diagnosed individuals and their families, clinicians, community programs, social service agencies, universities, policymakers—is encouraged to download, share, and integrate the toolkit into their work.
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About the Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance
S&PAA is the nation’s leading nonprofit dedicated exclusively to schizophrenia & psychosis. They work to advance care through evidence-based research, provide support for the diagnosed, caregivers, and clinicians, and advocate for policies and legislation at the national level.
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