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Bayer Healthcare's

CPSH Funding Project

Prepared for

The Dallas Chamber of Commerce

Prepared by

Areeb Khatri, Awinash Babu, Brian Pae, Jordan Atmeh, Wisam Abusad Bayer Healthcare

April 10, 2015

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Table of Contents 1. Introduction--------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------3

1.1 Objective of Proposal---------------------------------------------------------------- 3 1.2 Why this should be addressed in Dallas -------------------------------------------3 1.3 The Effects of this Proposal----------------------------------------------------------3 1.4 Summation of Proposal---------------------------------------------------------------4

2. Background--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5

2.1 Mentally Disabled Homeless in Dallas------------------------------------------5 2.2 The Case for Permanent Supported Housing-----------------------------------6

3. The Proposal-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7

3.1 Outline-------------------------------------------------------------------------------7 3.2 The Building Plan------------------------------------------------------------------7 3.3 The Housing Plan------------------------------------------------------------------ 8

3.4 Financial Effects--------------------------------------------------------------------8 3.5 Social Effects----------------------------------------------------------------------- 8

4. Budget and Staff-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------10 4.1 Goals--------------------------------------------------------------------------------10 4.2 Costs--------------------------------------------------------------------------------10 4.3 Secondary Goal------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 4.4 Donations------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11

4.5 Donors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 4.6 Staff---------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 5. Targeted Question and Answer----------------------------------------------------------------13 6. References/Sources

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1. Introduction

1.1 Objective of Proposal

In our entry to the business gives back program in Dallas, we are proposing an effective way to help homeless people that have mental disorders. The proposal will give them a way to live safely in a stable living environment. We would be supporting the organization called the CPSH or the Community for Permanent Supported Housing by raising funds and awareness for them. This organization is dedicated to building more supported housing for people with mental disorders and helping them on their way to living within them.

1.2 Why This Should Be Addressed In Dallas

In Dallas County, there are many homeless people that have nowhere to go. Many of these people unfortunately suffer from some form of a mental disorder. These mental disorders can prevent them from achieving a stable and independent living environment by themselves. Not only this but, many caregivers of people that have mental disorders are unfortunately getting to an age where it is getting increasingly difficult to support them. If these caregivers are no longer there to take care of these individuals, they can wind up on the streets. When people that have mental disorders have no support and end up homeless, there is a large chance that they can end up hurting themselves or even ending up in jail cells due to non-violent crimes like loitering.

1.3 The Effects of This Proposal

By implementing our proposal to raise funds for the Community for Permanent Supported Housing, we will be able to help the CPSH renovate an apartment building in the Dallas County. This will create an opportunity to bring many homeless people that are suffering from mental disorders off of the streets and into their very own apartments. The effects will prove to be very positive. It will have a major social impact by helping people that are unable to help themselves. They will be able to live in a stable area where their conditions won't be exacerbated by the many harmful elements of being homeless.

The caregivers of these people who are mainly parents, will also feel a positive

impact. They will not have to worry about what will happen to their mentally disabled child once they are no longer able to take care of them. These caregivers always have fear that their disabled child will end up helpless without them but our proposal can help alleviate their fears. The effects will also be quite positive in regards to the economy of

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Dallas. By bringing down the amount of mentally disabled homeless people, healthcare costs will go down due to the lack of emergency room visits. By bringing down these economic costs, there is a possibility that taxpayers may see a decrease in their payments. This proposal has many positive benefits that will greatly help the Dallas County.

1.4 Summation of Proposal

Bayer's proposal is one that has great importance for both social and economic reasons. It will target a problem that is almost always overlooked when it should be front and center. By raising funds for the CPSH, they will use their resources and contacts to create and renovate apartment building for the mentally disabled that desperately need safe and affordable housing options.

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2. Background

In the year 2010, the non-profit organization called the Community for Permanent

Supported Housing was formed. The idea of the organization came about when a parent named Robin Leogrande saw that there was not a lot of living options for her son who has Down syndrome. Due to this, she began researching how other communities were solving this problem. Then, another parent named Irene Niemotka, who is the mother of an adult daughter with a mental disability, also grew an interest in solving this issue. The two mothers got together to form the CPSH.

2.1 Mentally Disabled Homeless in Dallas

In all of North Texas, there is an estimated amount of 97,000 people with mental disabilities who have at least one independent living difficulty. These are people who are either being cared for by a caregiver or are homeless. In Dallas County, there are approximately 3,314 that are recorded as homeless and 43% of them are mentally ill. (dallasnews.com)

This is a pretty significant amount of people that need help but it's a problem that can certainly be managed with more permanent supported housing. If the CPSH is able to build more housing, this could significantly reduce the amount of mentally disabled homeless.

43%

57%

Homeless Pop'n Mental Health

ILL STABLE

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2.2 The Case for Permanent Supported Housing

The issue of mentally disabled homeless people is a serious concern for parents and other caregivers. They have a right to be worried due to the fact that if they are no longer there to help their children who have mental disabilities, there’s a strong chance that they will end up on the streets with no support. By being homeless with a disability, there’s a good chance that they will enter a cycle that will keep them homeless on the streets. In this cycle, they have much higher chances of ending up in emergency care, jail cells, or even dead.

Another major concern is that, many of these mentally disabled people have

Down syndrome. Unfortunately 90% of people that have Down syndrome will be affected by Alzheimer's disease by the age of 49 years old. (down-syndrome.org) Alzheimer’s is a terrible condition for someone who doesn't have a stable living environment. Their memories will get worse and if they don't have the support they will need, they can find themselves in dire conditions. Permanent supported housing will offer these people a stable living environment that has a staff on hand to help them with their problems. Their conditions can be overlooked and it won't spiral out of control.

The other major concern is that mentally disabled homeless people are usually

unable to afford a place to live by themselves. Either they cannot work due to their conditions or they can only work minimum wage jobs. It can be extremely difficult for them to afford an apartment, and it's unlikely to happen due to them not having the assistance that they may need in their daily lives. With permanent supported housing, they will have an affordable place to live with the assistance they need. Supported housing is subsidized by the government which brings the cost down and mentally disabled people usually receive SSI which brings the cost down even further. These social supports will help mentally disabled people live comfortably in a stable environment that is suited to their needs.

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3. The Proposal

3.1 Outline

Bayer will reach out to local businesses through social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. We will request their aid in helping us reach our goal of raising enough money for CPSH to build a Permanent Supportive Housing community in the Dallas, Texas area.

This social media campaign will need to be short and effective. No longer than 4

weeks. After 4 weeks, it will be very difficult to stay in the limelight or in people’s attention. The nature of social media has made it so that nothing really stays relevant for more than a month. This short length means that campaign will have to be as effective as possible in gaining corporate sponsors and regular donations. To do this, it would be most effective if it connected with people’s sense of empathy and citizenship.

Bayer believes that the average person is sympathetic to the suffering of their

fellow humans, especially if the people in question are unable to truly help themselves. It is with this sense of sympathy that we will gain the people’s help in raising awareness of CPSH. Increased awareness, especially in the social media circuit, results in bringing the attention of corporations. Corporations are quite simple in that they align with whatever is currently trendy and market along that trend.

After we’ve gained corporate sponsors, we plan on piggybacking on their network

to reach out to even more people. By doing this, we hope to reach our goal of $500,000 within 2 months. The first month will feature the peak of the social media campaign and the second month will feature a cool down process in which we announce the individuals who donated or contributed to the cost the most. These individuals will receive a Macbook Pro from the hands of those they’ve helped. The corporations will have the benefit of receiving an intangible asset; having their name associated with a reputable charitable organization.

3.2 The Building Plan

According to the CPSH, it would take approximately a 1-3 years to build a permanent supportive housing complex from the ground up. However, it would only take approximately 6 months to renovate a complex that has already been built so that it meets the standards of safety required to safely house the mentally ill. CPSH has determined that it would be most efficient if it used the donations to buy a foreclosed apartment complex and renovate it. After the complex has been built or renovated, CPSH would

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then have to file all the necessary documentation and present all the necessary certifications/qualifications to house the mentally ill.

3.3 The Housing Plan

After everything has been built, CPSH will send volunteers in groups to find mentally ill homeless people and make them aware of the facilities. Those that are willing will brought to the facilities for a full diagnosis to determine what kind of illness has befallen them. After the diagnosis has been determined, a CPSH staff or volunteer will find appropriate housing within the permanent supportive housing complex for the tenant. CPSH will also reach out parents with mentally disabled children and/or adults, and let them know that there is a safe place where their child will be taken care even after the parents themselves retire.

3.4 Financial Effects

Donating to the CPSH will benefit the Dallas County area by reducing financial burden on the institutions that currently house the majority of the mentally disabled homeless population. This in turn saves taxpayers money as well. These institutions are state psychiatric hospitals, emergency medical services, and jails. It costs state psychiatric hospitals $406 per day, emergency medical services $986 per day, and jail cells $187 per day to house the mentally disabled homeless. (nami.org). On the other hand, permanent supportive housing only costs around $20 - $52 per person, and it can be even lower if the housing building has already been established. It is as inexpensive as it because the government subsidizes a portion of the costs and the tenants themselves often contribute a part of their social security benefits.

By providing permanent supported housing to the mentally ill that are homeless, it

can save the taxpayers some good money. Healthcare costs are reduced by 59%, emergency department costs are decreased by 61%, and the number of general inpatient hospitalizations is decreased by 77%. That comes from the ncbi.gov website.

3.5 Social Effects

Beyond the financial benefits, there are positive social changes that often occur as a result of this program. Non-violent crime sees a noticeable decrease. This is because the mentally ill homeless are often sent to jail for nonviolent crimes. Their stay in jail often exacerbates their condition(s) and once they leave jail, they are worse off than they were before they went in. This cycle continues to repeat itself until either the individual is dead or is helped.

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For the mentally disabled that are not homeless, this will be a great help to their

caregivers who are mostly parents trying to take care of them. By providing supported housing, a huge burden will be lifted from parents who are getting older and having a harder time caring for their mentally ill children. This also allows them to have a peace of mind that when they are gone, their children will be safe and happy.

They are also in danger from those who don’t understand their condition and may

use unneeded deadly force. For example, there was recently a Dallas County police officer who shot a mentally disabled man who did not try to resist. The mentally disabled man wasn’t doing anything to provoke the police but he was holding a screwdriver. The officer told him to put it down but the man didn’t do it. He was then shot and killed. Dangers originating from their environment, from those who wish them ill will, and themselves can be largely avoided if they are provided with safe housing serviced by staff trained to help them.

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4. Budget

4.1 Goals

A current target goal of $1,000,000to help the CPSH with a current apartment renovation they are attempting to do in the Dallas area. They are in the process of selecting an apartment building that can be turned into a new supportive housing. The money that we raise will be greatly beneficial to the renovation of an apartment complex. The current goal was selected because that is approximately the cost that they will need to perform the renovations and to get it back into working order. This target goal would allow the CPSH to find a great apartment complex, completely renovate it, and get all the needed permits. According to NPR.org “supportive housing is still lamentably scarce, advocates say.

People with mental illness continue to suffer from the general shortage of affordable housing, compounded by some landlords' unwillingness to rent to the mentally ill.” Federal legislation that allows public housing to be designated "elderly only" has closed off up to 300,000 housing units to the mentally ill. Opening this apartment complex will help trim down that number. Approximately one-third of the nation's homeless have a severe mental illness. Many others with mental illness end up living miserable, moving among the homes of parents and other family members. Outside the family, group homes are the primary housing option for people with mental illness, but they often face negativity from neighbors.

4.2 Costs It may be cost-effective compared to the personal and societal costs of

homelessness, but creating permanent supportive housing is not cheap or simple. According to California Senate of Oversight and Outcomes, “Construction or renovation may range from $200,000 to $350,000 per unit, depending upon many factors.” Meaning the condition of the complex and the choice of area can differ that amount. Rooms with shared kitchens and bathrooms are cheaper to build, of course, but less desirable to most people. Experts say the ideal supportive housing includes a private bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room. But construction is only one of the three major costs to permanent supportive housing.

Equally important is money to make up the difference between what �it costs to operate the housing. Such as paying for a security guard, maintenance, employees at a front desk, and periodically a new roof. Most homeless people lack income beyond a monthly check provided under federal Social Security programs for people with disabilities. Those checks are usually no more than $845, and permanent supportive housing rules typically limit rent to 30 percent of a person’s income. With many tenants

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unable to pay more than a couple of hundred dollars a month in rent, developers of such housing must find so-called “operating subsidies” to cover the cost of maintaining the apartments or homes over time. When a county or developer fails to win Section 8 vouchers or some other type of government rent subsidy for tenants, they may set aside MHSA housing program funds to be gradually spent covering rent for a couple of decades.

Also, mentally ill residents need services. Help to overcome addiction, secure

federal benefits, learn life skills, cope with mental illness, and other services may be provided by the county mental health department or a non-profit group hired by local government. Services, too, may be paid for with other sources of money, each with its own requirements. There would also need to be some money set aside for miscellaneous costs such as food, electricity, water, etc. To set aside enough money to cover these costs over 15 years would take about $104,314, according to the housing corporation. Of all the various sources of money involved in permanent supportive housing, the Mental Health Services Act housing program is unique. It gives counties money for both capital and operating subsidies. Which is what we hope to do here in Dallas with CPSH Costs Budget Construction & Renovation

$275,000 -$275,000

Staffing Total $480,000 -$480,000 Promotions $150,000 -$150,000 Legal Fees $50,000 -$50,000 Misc. $45,000 -$45,000 Total $1,000,000 -$1,000,000

4.3 Secondary Goal

While that is the current target goal, we are also looking into raising more money to help the CPSH with an awareness campaign. So the secondary target goal we are attempting to reach would be $50,000. That will be enough money to run a good campaign that can help spread the word about the CPSH and the need for permanent supported housing in the Dallas County. The awareness campaign will consist of different forms of advertising. The awareness campaign would be split up between social media, print, telemarketing, and workplace visits. If we can effectively use these different areas of advertising, more people in the Dallas county may realize that this is a real problem but one that has a viable solution.

4.4. Donations

Most of the donations to CPSH come from individuals, Corporations, and private Foundations. Local Families and big businesses play a vital role in contributing and help

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people with mental disorders in the Dallas Metroplex. Less than 1% of funding comes from the state. Well-known donors include T.J Marquez an individual family in Texas, YCPD (Youth Community partners of Dallas), and volunteers who help CPSH with the fundraising. These Donors help CPSH by organizing charity events and personally host such events. These events include top rich families and big businesses and with the help of volunteers they raise plenty amount of donations from one event. According to CPSH, T.J Marquez and his family hosted a charity event last year and netted almost $85,000 for CPSH. On the other hand, Community partners of Dallas also hosted and event and rose up to $216,000. Volunteers contributed the most towards helping CPSH by contributing almost 11000 hours helping the CPSH community and rose up to almost $240,000.

4.5 Donors

Exxon Mobil, JP Morgan, and Texas instrument are some of the big businesses who donate almost a thousand dollars per person every year for the charity purpose. Bayer Healthcare will reach to such businesses and help CPSH get more donations which would be huge contribution towards helping the organization. These big businesses will help in the form of educational expenses, volunteering by raising the funds, and providing gifts for the patients. They also will organize charity events which would include well-known businesses all over Dallas, individual families, and make community for permanent supportive housing a better place to live and under great care provided by the organization.

4.6 Staffing CPSH has a huge community of people with mental orders. These patients are continuously under the care, day and night. CPSH has its own well-trained and experienced staff to take care of the patients. This staff includes nurses, cleaners, therapists, chefs, and other important employees who work with CPSH. Due to high population, CPSH has more than enough staff of almost around eighty employees. The employees at CPSH are divided into several departments and the staff budget annually.

Staff No. of

Employees Pay $

Nurses 10 180,000

Kitchen 8 96,000

Maintenance 5 60,000

Cleaners 12 144,000

Total 33 480,000

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The staff’s responsibility is to take care of the patients completely with no carelessness. The staff takes care of the patient’s food, medicines, and in case of emergency if a patient needs doctor assistance, CPSH has almost ten well-trained nurses to take care of the situation with the fixed salary of $1500 per month. For example, it is very hard to take care of a mentally disordered patient and sometimes such patients get out of control because of the disease, so CPSH has trained staff who takes care of every need of the patient. These nurses help handle the situation and their job is to contact hospital and doctors to avoid any mishap. This helps CPSH stay on top of the patient’s situation. The kitchen consists of almost eight employees with a fixed salary of $1000 per month. Their responsibility is to take care of the patient’s basic necessities such as food and water. The patients at CPSH are always under observation and it’s the employee’s duty to provide the patients with food. Since there is a high population of patients at CPSH, it needs continuous maintenance. There are five employees in the maintenance department with a fix salary of $1000 per month and their duty is to fix things such as: plumbing, working on generators (in case of no electricity), and even the smallest thing that needs to be fixed. CPSH has almost twelve cleaners with a fixed pay of $1000 per month. Their responsibility is to keep the apartments clean on daily basis and take care of patient’s laundry.

CPSH pays its staff by the donations collected for the organization. They provide their staff with all the needs. CPSH provides accommodations to its staff too. For example, food, water, and shelter. This helps motivate the employees and work hard towards helping the Organization. The staff working at CPSH are less paid because of the benefits and perks they are offered and usually the people who are independent and wants to work for a non-profit Organization, apply at CPSH. This helps the community of CPSH in a better way by providing the patients with every need at any time.

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5. Targeted Question and Answer How does funding this organization benefit the business owners and the community as a whole? Donating to our organization can, without a doubt, change the lives of individuals with

Mental disabilities and their families tremendously. However, helping our organization can have significant benefits for the community and businesses as well. Supportive housing has proven to dramatically lower the costs for emergency room visits, hospitalizations, shelters, jails, and other public transportation services commonly used by the homeless population. Additionally, research indicates that there is a positive correlation between supported housing and lower crime rates. Businesses can further have a patent as an intangible asset.

Wouldn’t it take too much money to start and fund such a place?

Given the fact that a lot of these apartments are places that the government has subsidized, most of these places are already provided with the necessary foundation required to operate. The only fees that are generally acquired, then, are the utility fees, worker/service expenses, and renovating costs (remodeling and furniture/general necessities). Most of these costs will be primarily covered by State and Federal programs for the disabled, foundation grants, donations from citizens, capital campaigns, and business revenues. Furthermore, tenants will be paying a small fee every month to further help fund our housing.

Will Supported Housing and the organization itself lower the number of mentally disabled people?

Although our organization strives to help the mentally ill population as much as we can, we have little control over the current number of people who have, or will have, mental disabilities. However, we can promise that there will be fewer individuals who have mental conditions struggling on the streets. By helping one more person in need of assistance and a home, we help both individuals and the community become safer by preventing possible, unnecessary dangers from happening. Additionally, supported housing has been shown to help people with mental conditions achieve recovery, resulting in a decrease of the number of mentally disabled people.

What’s the big difference between regular housing and supported housing?

Although there is minimal difference between the two housing structures when it comes down to physical appearance, there is quite a big difference in the community as a whole. Residents are constantly around a supportive environment that helps their individual needs when needed while being able to live independently in the same building complex.

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Further, given that this is a community built for the mentally disabled, it will be a much safer environment for individuals with intellectual developmental disabilities to reside in. By reinforcing these elements, supported housing aims to deliver the perfect balance between independent living and receiving assistance when needed.

How did permanent supported housing come to be?

Supported housing actually appeared during the 1980s as a solution to end homelessness. This idea spread nationwide and eventually got modified to support various needs of different people. Since then, the number of supported housing built for those with mental disabilities has grown rapidly. Today, we hope to be able to increase this number even further in order to help several individuals and families across the nation.

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6. References/Sources

Kairam, R. (n.d.). People with Mental Illness. Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://www.npr.org/news/specials/housingfirst/whoneeds/mentallyill.html Adkisson, Hill, Korber, & Vogel. (n.d.). Housing the Mentally Ill: An Effective Solution, but Counties Need Greater Flexibility. Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://sooo.senate.ca.gov/sites/sooo.senate.ca.gov/files/mental health report 8 11 11.pdf Tsiaperas, T. (n.d.). Number of chronically homeless in Dallas County drops. Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20140828-number-of-chronically-homeless-in-dallas-county-drops.ece A comparison between older persons with Down syndrome and a control group: Clinical characteristics, functional status and sensori-motor function. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://www.down-syndrome.org/reports/282/?page=1 Wright, J. (n.d.). Social Problems. Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/content/35/2/182.abstract Mental Illness and Homelessness. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/Mental_Illness.pdf Consequences of Non-treatment. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/resources/consequences-of-lack-of-treatment/violence/1384 Mental Illness Facts and Numbers. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://www2.nami.org/factsheets/mentalillness_factsheet.pdf The High Cost of Cutting Mental Health. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://www2.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=About_the_Issue&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=114535 Permanent Supportive Housing. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://usich.gov/usich_resources/solutions/explore/permanent_supportive_housing Community For Permanent Supported Housing. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://www.txcpsh.org/about-us

Mental illnesses are not choices chosen, but hope is.

Donate to the Community for Permanent Supportive

Housing (CPSH) or spread the word. You can bring

hope to a life that desperately needs it.