Stay Sought For Fresco County Housing

Apartments for low-income mentally ill may get reprieve.

From The Fresno Bee by Barbara Anderson, January 23, 2010

Two low-income apartment complexes for the mentally ill that are set to close may remain open -- at least for the next four months -- under a plan that Fresno County supervisors will be asked to approve Tuesday.

County mental-health officials want the county to extend the contract with Housing & Supportive Services of Fresno, a nonprofit agency that provides the residents with supportive services such as medication management.

The 120-day contract extension would cost $106,560.

Residents at Cedar Heights and Cedar Woods apartments in east-central Fresno were told last month that services allowing them to live independently in their apartments would end Dec. 31. County health officials said they didn't have the funds to continue services under a proposed new multiyear contract.

The apartment complexes can house 51 people with mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Donna Taylor, the county's Behavioral Health acting director, said Thursday that she is working with the nonprofit agency and the Fresno County Housing Authority to find a solution to keep tenants in their apartments.

One option that Torigian has posed would be for the housing authority to take over ownership of Cedar Heights, which is owned by Housing & Supportive Services, Taylor said. Apartments at Cedar Woods are subleased by the agency, she said.

Another possibility is for the housing authority to provide housing vouchers to residents who do not currently have the subsidies, Taylor said.

Dennis Torigian, executive director of Housing & Supportive Services, said he hopes a long-term solution can be found within the next week or two. "The sooner the better, because we have placement issues," he said.

Source: The Fresno Bee

Link: http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1794802.html