Most residents (at Phoenix House and Mountain House) are on SSI (Social Supplemental Income) or SSDI (Social Security Disability Income) and pay a State regulated Board & Care amount per month for their room and three meals a day. We have a private pay option for both residential and outpatient services, for clients with more resources than those available through SSI or SSDI. Our principal funding is through contracts with the Santa Barbara County Department of Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Services. We also receive HUD funding (through their Shelter Plus Care program) for individuals on SSI or SSDI who are in single units at our residential programs. Questions about our services and their costs can be answered by calling our Admin office at (805) 965-3434.

We ask for donations from members of the community for special projects, such as covering the costs of clients taking adult education classes, or helping clients pay their 'first and last' when they move out into the community. We also have a need for grants and donations to help fund our horticultural therapy program at Mountain House, and to assist in paying down the mortgage on the Mountain House property. In addition, Planned Giving, as part of your estate planning, and contributions to our Endowment Fund are welcome.

Some background on our services:

The mental health clients we serve are diagnosed with a variety of conditions, with schizophrenia being the predominant one, and bipolar, major depressive, schizoaffective and personality disorders also being represented. The clients we treat with substance abuse as the primary focus are often diagnosed with another disorder, such as schizophrenia, a personality disorder, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder or depression.

Phoenix House, at 107 East Micheltorena in Santa Barbara, has two to three staff on duty most of the time, and has a more structured program than Ada's Place, which is staffed by a single person most of the time. Phoenix House, because residents there can be more intensively monitored and treated, takes referrals from in-patient units as well as from out-patient settings, and can work with clients who are fairly challenging from the point of view of symptoms.

Mountain House, at 37 Mountain drive in Santa Barbara, is considered to be a step along the continuum of care from Phoenix House, and sometimes is a step for Phoenix House clients to move to, before they move into their own apartment, or into a less supervised setting like a Room and Board facility.

The Community Care Licensing division of the California Department of Social Services licenses both Mountain House and Phoenix House.

Many of our clients have in the past been obliged to live in hospitals or locked nursing facilities. Our goal is to help them live as independently as possible, with the ideal being to live in an apartment, either shared or on their own. If the client's goal is to live in a collective situation, we will also support that.

We work to help our clients master or at least come to grips with the basics: some of them have difficulty using public transportation; others have difficulty maintaining personal hygiene. Some struggle with a lack of self-confidence. We coach them to use the bus system, to do laundry, to be assertive, to find a volunteer job, to take a class at City College, to find a part-time job. Our goal is to find out just what each person wants to achieve, in terms of self-sufficiency, and to give the encouragement, direction and support to achieve their "personal best."

Staff in our Mainstream program work actively with residents at our two residential facilities to plan with them how to move out to more independent living. When residents move out, they are actively supported by staff to survive, as the Bard would put it, "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." Mainstream staff also work with clients who graduated from our facilities some time ago to develop their skills and maximize their fulfillment in living out in the community. Mainstream staff are available on pager 7 days a week and round the clock to provide support when clients need it. Because we have a model of services that focuses on developing strong relationships with clients and is preventative rather than interventionist, seldom do our staff have to go out at an unusual hour to assist a client, but sometimes that happens.

Our Substance Abuse Program focuses on providing group counseling, individual counseling, work with families and case management. We specialize in the dually-diagnosed client, meaning the person with mental illness - such as schizophrenia - and a diagnosable alcohol or drug disorder. Our program has phases for clients to move through in their treatment, with a major emphasis on 12 Step principles. We randomly test individuals to see if they are staying drug-free, and assist with transportation if necessary. We work closely with referral sources to maintain a strong systemic approach.