Program Spotlight: PATH
PATH outreach team visiting unhoused individuals. Photography: Blake Cook
How do you find someone who needs help but has no address or consistent phone number and experiences severe symptoms of mental illness?
Randy, who had been unhoused for seven years, usually stayed at Public Square or by the tracks near West 25th Street. He was often nonverbal, he moved frequently, and he experienced hallucinations, delusions, depression, and mania.
FrontLine Service’s Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness / Alcohol and Other Drugs outreach team (nicknamed “PATH”) could usually find Randy when making their daily rounds of shelters, encampments, and abandoned buildings. But when they couldn’t find him at his usual spots, concern set in.
FrontLine’s six-person PATH team conducts outreach to link individuals who are unhoused like Randy to housing, mental health treatment, and employment assistance—based on the national model from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The PATH team specifically serves those with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorder who are unhoused. Mental health and trauma symptoms often prevent individuals from accepting support or recognizing that they may need it. Effectively connecting them to services requires building trust and rapport over months or years.
Where most of us rely on phones and fixed addresses to connect, the PATH team relies on a network of community providers with a shared mission to connect with those who are unhoused. In particular, PATH works closely with the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homelessness (NEOCH) street outreach team, which provides supplies, transportation, and other supports to those experiencing homelessness.
While NEOCH concentrates on unhoused individuals’ day-to-day needs, it relies on PATH to conduct specialized outreach for individuals who are experiencing symptoms of mental illness or substance use disorder. And PATH workers rely on NEOCH’s outreach team to identify people who need mental health treatment.
When the PATH team was unable to find Randy, they turned to NEOCH. PATH checked with Randy at his campsite several times a week, offering food and clothing. Knowing that Randy never drank water, the team always brought juice.
One day, Randy accepted their offer of mental health assistance. Randy chose to begin medication for his mental health symptoms, moved into a group home, and applied for an apartment.
A few months after moving into a group home in the spring, Randy stopped showing up for his psychiatric appointments. By the end of the summer, Randy had moved back onto the street. PATH was notified and found him in his usual spots outside.
It is common for those with severe mental illness to cycle in and out of treatment as they navigate the ups and downs of recovery. PATH and NEOCH outreach teams continue to check on Randy and maintain their relationship with him. When Randy is ready to take the next step in his recovery, they will be there to help.
