Purpose

Pathways Adult Living Inc's Purpose

Pathways Adult Living Inc, (PAL) is an entity that will touch the lives of many persons with mental illness/challenges in a natural, supportive, spiritual and economic way. PAL is oriented to address homelessness, and will provide help and service to any person with mental illness/challenges WHO WANTS TO LIVE and NOT JUST BE SICK, who needs and wants a clean, safe, supportive place to begin living life with their mental health challenges, free from stigma and judgment. PAL emphasizes outreach to homeless mentally ill individuals where they are. Our goals are to arrange safe and flexible housing and to work assiduously to engage people in care.

Residents, The Heart of the Matter

The HEART of PAL is our residents, who are provided supportive housing with caring and nurturing rehabilitative assistance while living in our facility. PAL will direct and assist each resident toward living healthy, stable, full, productive and independent lives to their fullest potential, whether that life is as a long term PAL resident or helping them prepare to, one day, live independently in an apartment of their own.

Mental-Illnesses' Past

Adults with mental illness, one of our most vulnerable groups, suffer greatly from the fragmentation and failings of the system. The evidence of the failure to help them is most apparent and most glaring on our streets, under our bridges, and in institutions like nursing homes and jails. Some are homeless, and some are dependent on alcohol or drugs. Many have no income, and many go without any treatment. Most strikingly, less than 40 percent of those with mental illness receive stable treatment (Kessler et al., 2001). An estimated 25 percent of homeless persons have a mental disorder and, for the most part, do not receive any treatment (Dickey, 2000). Among those who are 'chronically homeless,' the prevalence of mental illness is even higher. Providing people who are mentally ill with quality treatment and flexible supports lead to symptom relief, recovery, employment, less homelessness, less substance abuse, and less incarceration.

Mental illnesses can be very devastating, stigmatizing and shameful illnesses for those suffering, and for their loved ones suffering through these illnesses with them. Many of these people and their families feel helpless to these illnesses and the roller coaster ride it takes their lives on.

Many of us have had a family member or friend who was considered "eccentric”, "different” or “marching to the beat of his/her own drum”. These were the words we used to explain our loved ones who had a difference about them that we did not understand; a mental illness.

For years we honestly did not know that these eccentricities, differences, and drum beats were in reality; a terrible mental disorder that often caused these people to have to be locked away in mental institutions because we did not know how to care for them and were unaware of any treatment other than institutionalization.

Mental-Illnesses' Future

PAL knows that many people with mental illness are at risk for homelessness. Contributing factors include the lack of appropriate and affordable housing and the lack of access to medications and rehabilitation supports. These are necessary to help mentally ill people achieve the personal stability that is the key element to housing stability. Lessening homelessness requires special attention to the adults with mental disabilities who are over-represented among the neediest homeless.

Today, with medication treatment, a good support system and compliance, many people with mental illnesses are able to effectively manage and control their mental disorders. They can live mentally stable lives and function as productive members of their community.

The closing of State Psychiatric facilities and the releasing of the mentally ill into the community mainstream (the least restrictive environment), without having adequately provided for their imminent needs, housing, finances, medical and psychiatric treatment caused many of them to become untreated, mentally ill members of the homeless population.

Many families tried to provide for and support their mentally ill family members, but after years of trying to care for a person with an illness they did not understand, they became frustrated and burned out. Many of these families reluctantly released their mentally ill loved ones to survive on their own, again causing many of them to become a part of the untreated homeless population.

One very exasperating problem for families with a person suffering with mental illness is the constant cycles of relapsing because of non-compliance with treatment and medication. A very common practice of many mentally ill persons is to take the prescribed psychotropic medication until they feel healthier. Once they feel well again, they believe they no longer need the medication and stop taking it. They fail to understand that they feel in good health and are experiencing mental stability because they have adhered to their medication regimen. This misunderstanding may, in one way, be contributed to the characteristics of psychotropic medications. A mentally ill person on a regimen of psychotropic medication may take several weeks before the medication builds up in the bloodstream, and effectively works on the dissipation of symptoms; the same being true when one stops taking the medication. The culmination of medication in the bloodstream can cause there to be no immediate return of symptoms of mental illness. Once the symptoms are evident, the person may have fully relapsed and often must be hospitalized to regain stable mental functioning.

PAL's Conviction

PAL is convinced that many persons with mental illnesses can be productive community members if they are receiving the right psychiatric treatment (medications), have a support system, and have a true knowledge and understanding of the illness that is a part of their lives.

PAL is cognizant that mental illness is no different than any other treatable illness and that the person with the illness must be a participant in his/her treatment for the treatment to be effective.

PAL recognizes that for a person to participate effectively in their treatment, that person must comprehend their illness, know their symptoms, accept that their illness is treatable, assist their psychiatrist in identifying the medication and dosages that treat their symptoms, and be compliant with their treatment regimen.

PAL believes that people with mental illnesses recover better when they get back into living their life. Many people find it difficult to return to living their life after having a mental break. They separate themselves from family, friends, jobs and activities they once enjoyed and succumb to the devastating mental disorders.

PAL's Clientele

The PAL facility is a one-of-a-kind facility in the Tarrant County area for adults with mental illness. PAL is committed to providing a supportive living environment that will offer its residents the nurturing support they need to obtain and maintain as healthy and stable a mental existence as they can acquire.

As a consequence of the enormous need for housing of mentally ill persons who are not stable enough to live independently, PAL's unique supportive living community will not only support mentally ill individuals, but will also be extremely valuable to the Psychiatrists, Nurses, Case Managers and Rehabilitation Counselors who work with these mentally ill persons. PAL will be beneficial in keeping them well, because their clients will be living in a facility that is helping the client be compliant with the treatment prescribed by their treatment team. There is such a huge necessity for a facility such as PAL's, that the health care professionals are readily providing letters of referrals for housing of their mentally ill clients.

PAL acquires residents by making itself and the services it offers known in the community, at mental health agencies, hospitals and to families with mentally ill loved ones. PAL networks with community agencies, homeless shelters, and individuals that can make referrals of persons who need our housing and supportive services.