Assumptions are the underlying foundation of any program model. Although the Community Model will take on variations depending on differences in geography and target populations, it is essential for any organization interested in implementing the Community Model to understand these assumptions and to critically evaluate whether these principles can be integrated into the organization’s existing philosophy and approach. The seven key assumptions of the Community Model are:

1. Mental illness and licit and illicit drug use are part of our society. We choose to work to minimize their harmful effects rather than simply ignore or condemn them.
2. Drugs, prescribed or illegal, can be beneficial, neutral, or harmful. The effects can only be determined and understood within an individual’s situation.
3. Mental illness and substance addiction are life-long cyclical illnesses and may require life-long recovery processes.
4. Mental illness and substance addictions are results of biological and socio-cultural factors.
5. Abstinence-oriented services and treatment with psychotropic medications can be effective, but they are not the only answer and they are not for everyone.
6. Choice is essential for recovery. Most individuals with mental illness and/or substance addiction are competent in making good choices and informed decisions.
7. Housing is essential to promote stability and well-being.

While the assumptions guide the Community Model, the model itself is manifested through several key characteristics. The characteristics of the Community Model are:

– Life-long Community: Once a person is screened into the Community Model, they are part of it for life. They are welcome to come, go, and return as they choose, with no time limits on healing or recovery. Such flexibility responds to the cyclical nature of mental illness and the likelihood of relapse and periods of acute mental illness.

– Acceptance and Tolerance: Adhering to the basic philosophy of serving members “where they are at,” the Community Model program involves genuine acceptance of members for who they are. Access to housing and services or participation in the community is not withheld or terminated due to a person using or relapsing on drugs or de-compensating with their mental illness.

– Non-linear and Flexible: The Community Model recognizes that the recovery of mental illness or substance addiction is a cyclical process. Individuals with mental illness and substance addiction may experience many different periods of full functioning and decompensation or relapse throughout their lives. It is not a linear process where recovery moves only in one forward direction. The Community Model recognizes that the pace of recovery varies among individuals and time constraints and deadlines for “full recovery” are avoided. Furthermore, the Community Model provides an array of housing and service options that can meet individual need "where the client is at." The housing is on a level field — shelter, residential program, permanent housing — there is no hierarchy to the housing. One does not have to "earn" their way into a housing component. This is contrary to the traditional treatment and housing models that are based on a linear process, where clients must begin their recovery in a fixed format and must move on to the next “stage” within a preset amount of time.

– Voluntary Services: There are some basic mandatory rules that members must follow, such as no violence, no stealing and no illegal drug use on the premises. Aside from adherence to these basic rules, participation in every element of the Community Model-based program is completely voluntary. Members have the final decision on the type of services and housing that they are “ready” for and when they are “ready” to undertake these services.

– Consistency of Services: Individuals who have been homeless for years and have a mental illness experience substantial instability in their lives. Daily routines are standardized in their timing and nature, but not in a way that makes the services and rules rigid and keep program staff from meeting the individual needs of members. In short, the underlying goal of improving the lives of people who are homeless and mentally ill requires encouraging order and consistency on the macro level, but adaptivity and respect for individual differences on the micro level in order to maintain a sense of a stable, yet adaptive environment.

– Accessible: The Community Model-based program is open to all homeless individuals with mental illness with no further selection standard or criteria. Respect and dignity are reinforced by ensuring that the buildings and environment within the housing and service facilities are safe, spacious, clean, and in good repair. This allows the facility and environment to be physically, emotionally, and spiritually accessible.

– Diversity: To meet the challenges of the diversity in the population, staff in a Community Model program are also diverse in ethnicity, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, level of education, and life experiences. Staff include members, former members, and individuals who have personal experience with homelessness, mental illness, and/or substance use.