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'Good housing is just good housing': design guidelines for housing for people with mental illness.

Article Excerpt
Paulla Gates, chief operating officer for Coleman Professional Services in Stark County, Ohio, shared that thought with the Kent State University Urban Design Center of Northeast Ohio. UDC had interviewed Gates and other mental health service providers as well as architects, housing developers, advocates, clients, and families to develop best practices and design guidelines for supportive housing for people with mental illness. After we completed our research, we realized that Gates was right--it really is that simple.

Envisioning Living Environments for People with Mental Illness is intended to promote the most effective design strategies to support the healing and recovery process. Developed with input and support from the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation, the design guidelines and best practices are based on UDC's interviews and a detailed literature search, including information from 34 articles and 25 books about the connection between health and the environment.

The document advocates that "living environments" support people with severe mental illness in their paths to recovery, and it includes architectural guidelines, landscape components, and neighborhood planning strategies. The paper provides evidence that housing can and should be an important component in promoting good mental health and helping people with mental illness regain control over their lives.

Examining the evidence base

The intention behind the document was to determine...

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