The primary goal of CABHI (Cooperative Agreement to Benefit Homeless Individuals) was to ensure that the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness and chronic homelessness received access to housing, treatment, and recovery support services.

History of CABHI

SAMHSA’s Cooperative Agreements to Benefit Homeless Individuals (CABHI) programs are competitive grant programs, jointly funded by the SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) and the SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT).

The CABHI programs support state and local community efforts to provide behavioral health treatment and recovery-oriented services. These services are provided within a permanent supportive housing approach for people with:

• Substance use disorders

• Serious mental illness

• Serious emotional disturbance

• Co-occurring mental and substance use disorders

In October of 2015, through the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH), Rhode Island secured a national CABHI grant for three years to serve those Rhode Islanders experiencing homelessness.

purpose of CABHI

CABHI’s primary goal was to ensure that the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness and chronic homelessness received access to housing, treatment, and recovery support services. These people often include veterans, families, and youth.

The cooperative agreements were designed to bring together stakeholders across the homeless service system to improve access to treatment and supportive services for homeless and previously homeless individuals.

CABHI GOALS

(1) To increase statewide policies to address planning, coordination and integration of behavioral health and primary care services and permanent supportive housing to decrease homelessness.

(2) To increase the number of people in permanent supportive housing who receive behavioral health treatment and recovery support services.

(3) To increase the number of persons placed in permanent supportive housing and enrolled in Medicaid and other mainstream benefits including TANF, SNAP and SSI/SSDI.

(4) To work collaboratively with the Department of Corrections to outreach, identify and assess incarcerated persons who may experience chronic homelessness upon release from intake.

(5) To provide direct services, including mental health and substance abuse treatment, recovery services and peer supports, to 150 individuals (50 per year) who are experiencing chronic homelessness or veterans who have mental health, substance use disorders or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. An additional 150 persons (50 per year) who are currently living in permanent supporting housing in need of treatment, recovery supports and/or peer supports will also receive direct services.

work post-cabhi

The Housing First Training Group was formed in 2017 under the CABHI (Cooperative Agreement to Benefit Homeless Individuals) Grant - a project of SAMSHA and BHDDH. CABHI brought together four homeless service providers – Amos House, Crossroads, House of Hope and Better Lives (formerly PICA) in partnership with four behavioral health providers – Community Care Alliance, Newport Mental Health, The Providence Center and Thrive Behavioral Health to better coordinate, cooperate and serve those homeless individuals with substance use and/or mental health disorders.

Thanks to the CABHI funding, over 125 trainings were held in a two year span. When the CABHI grant (and funding) ended, the CABHI partners wanted to ensure that these important best practice trainings continued. The training group continued to meet, work and host trainings. In 2020, the group was renamed the Behavioral Health & Homelessness Prevention Training Group (BHHP) and has recently received BHDDH funds to continue to host trainings.