The people with whom [Heritage] deals ... are at the bottom of the housing ladder; people whose lives are on the edge of disintegration; people trying day by day to beat the disease of alcoholism, or mental illness, or substance abuse. That is our clientele. … Without government assistance to house this population, they will be in everyone’s backyard, and in their parks, and under their highways, and in their train stations.
And housing is only the first step. They need counseling. They need individual support. They need treatment.
… for this country to remain great, it must deal with and find a way to use the great potential this large disadvantaged population represents in terms of manpower (personpower), diversity and creativity.

- Ana Pereria

Aurora MICA Program

This is a 20 bed transitional housing program for mentally ill adults who have a co-occurring substance abuse disorder. This is a 24-hour per day supervised program that assists clients in gaining and maintaining sobriety, as well as living with and recovering from mental illness, and has a Day Treatment program component on-site. Services include ongoing assessment and service planning, individual and group therapy, peer support groups, behavioral contracts, and referral to collateral services. Residents are trained in daily living skills, symptom and medication management, health and nutrition, socialization, self-advocacy, employment and job skills, and other areas needed to support their road to recovery. Consumers undergo periodic urine screening to verify their commitment and success in overcoming substance abuse. As consumers become more capable of dealing with their lives and sustaining greater independence, they move up the continuum of care ladder of decreasing supervision and increasing autonomy.

Aurora MICA Program – Admission Criteria

Client must be 18 years of age or older and have a designated mental illness diagnosis with co-existing substance dependency.
Client must be eligible to receive entitlement benefits from the NYC Human Resources Administration Department of Social Services, the Social Security Administration, Medicaid, Food Stamps, etc.
Client must have no immediate potential for or likelihood of doing serious harm to himself or others.
Client must agree to adhere to his/her individual service plan, and to the rules and regulations of the program.
Evidence must be submitted that the client is medically suited for this program.
Referral source must submit an approved HRA-2010E housing form, and current supporting documentation, including psychosocial summary, psychiatric assessment, physical examination, and entitlement documentation.
Client must be deemed NY/NY I or NY/NY II eligible by the NYC Human Resources Administration’s Office of Health and Mental Health Services.

For additional information, contact:

Pamela Pannell, Supervising Case Manager
212-866-2600 ext. 27
ppannell@heritagehousing.org