1999 Exemplary Program Initiative
Award Recipient
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Crossover House Homeless Project
Anchorage, AK
 The
Crossover House Homeless Project of Anchorage, Alaska, is operated
by Anchorage Community Mental Health Services Inc., which has been
in operation since 1975. Crossover House is located at the Southcentral
Counseling Center, the major community mental health center in this
sub-arctic city. With a population of 254,269, Anchorage has 42%
of the state's population, and 68% of its homeless population.
Gary Mandzik of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services
nominated Crossover House as an exemplary PATH program because of
the breadth of services it offers. "Crossover has an array
of housing opportunities and support services to meet the needs
of its consumers," Mandzik said.
Mental Health and Housing Services
Crossover House was the only PATH-funded program in Alaska in FY
1999, receiving $300,000 in PATH funding - 16 percent of the agency's
total budget for homeless people with serious mental illnesses.
During FY 1998, Crossover House served a total of 93 PATH clients.
Crossover House provides outreach, engagement and transition services
to persons who are homeless and have serious mental illnesses, many
of whom also have co-occurring substance abuse disorders. Crossover
House offers clients a continuum of services, including mental health
services, psychosocial rehabilitation services, psychiatric and
nursing services, access to specialized residential services, and
employment training and placement.
Crossover House provides substance abuse treatment services through
referral to other community agencies. Crossover House is the outreach
and engagement component of a residential continuum of care that
includes: a 16-bed, HUD-funded transitional housing facility; 27
units of scattered-site Shelter Plus Care apartments; 85 units of
scattered-site apartments funded by HUD Permanent Housing grants;
access to 17 residential units in small, multi-family complexes;
and 103 adult, assisted living beds in privately operated facilities.
Of their 93 PATH clients, 50 were placed in shelters (if they were
living outdoors) or transitional and permanent housing.
Collaboration Among Agencies
Anchorage has one of only three mental health courts in the country,
with a pilot project designed to divert persons with mental illness
and misdemeanor offenses from correctional facilities and the judicial
system to community-based treatment. Crossover House and
the Institutional Discharge Project work with the Jail Alternative
Services program to provide mental health services, case management
support services and referral services to individuals in the mental
health court program.
Crossover House has a strong track record of collaboration with
other community agencies. Staff members make an average of 150 contacts
per month to other agencies in the fields of health care, criminal
justice, employment, housing and homelessness. The Crossover House
psychiatrist meets monthly with the neighborhood health care agency,
and other staff meet with staff from shelters, food providers and
the local Veterans' Administration every two weeks.
 Consumer
and Family Involvement
PATH consumers are involved in the development of their service
plans, and in program evaluation. Family involvement is focused
on reconnecting consumers with family members outside Alaska and
in rural Alaska villages.
Cultural Competency
The largest minority population within the Anchorage homeless population
is Alaska Natives. Specific training in cultural issues pertaining
to Alaska Natives is offered within the agency and in the community.
For more information about the The Crossover House Project,
contact Shannon Wilks at (907) 261-5361, or sccgrant@alaska.net
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