A recovery-oriented community navigation service for persons with serious mental Ilnesses and repeated hospitalizations

Opening Doors to Recovery in Southeast Georgia is a unique public–private–not-for-profit–academic partnership initiated by advocacy efforts of the Georgia affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and its community and mental healthcare partners. The multi-disciplinary/multi-agency partnership emerged amidst a unique mix of successes and crises within the state. A major impetus for the new partnership was a prominent concern among advocates and mental healthcare providers about a proposed closure of the region's only state psychiatric hospital. With foundation support for both program implementation and a parallel research study, the Opening Doors to Recovery program is a community-based service centered on teams of “Community Navigation Specialists,” including a licensed mental health professional, family member of an individual with a serious mental illness, and peer with lived experience in recovery. Teams of navigators seek to enhance participants' community integration; support them in developing a meaningful day; ensure access to adequate treatment; and facilitate stable housing, improved relationships, and desired vocational/volunteer/educational activities. Research evaluates effectiveness in terms of reducing recidivism in inpatient settings, homelessness, and incarceration, as well as potential improvements in key recovery domains. This presentation will provide an overview of findings on: (1) the navigators' training curriculum in terms of enhanced knowledge and self-efficacy; (2) a formal process evaluation that specified a logic model and identified strengths and challenges of the program; and (3) initial effectiveness results (comparing baseline and 4-month follow-up data among 100 participants) in terms of reduced recidivism and improved recovery-related outcomes.