You first need to see what the individual is eligible for by finding out what they are funded under. They are either funded through Office of Mental Retardation also known as OMRDD or they are funded through Office of Mental Health, also known as OMH.

To find out if the individual falls under OMRDD you need to have psychological testing done for the individual and have a report done within the last 3 years. After you have the psychological testing completed, you'll need to submit the eligibility form as well as a copy of the psychological sent to Dr. Richard Rice at OMRDD. The contact number for the Long Island Department of Mental Retardation is (631)493-1700.

To fall under OMH Residential housing, the individual needs to have a psychiatric report stating that they have a Severe Persistent Mental Illness. If you are looking for Residential housing for someone with Mental Illness, all applications must go through SPA (Single Point of Access).

Eligibilty Application for OMRDD, Single Point of Access (SPA) application and Family Residences and Essential Enterprises application for services

The waiting period for services is highly variable, and dependent on the specific needs of each individual. Submitting an application and having it on file is the first necessary step in successful placement. Let us help you think creatively to create the right solution for your needs, or the needs of your loved one. If you have a wait for day services or residential services placement, consider other services FREE provides, such as  over-night, afternoon, and in-home respite, evening or weekend socialization and recreation programs, in-home residential habilitation, case management, or Medicaid Service.

We recommend that you place the individual on a residential waitlist the sooner the better. You can always decline the placement if the individual is not ready, does not like the setting or that they have other placement. When you decline a placement, the individual stays on the waitlist and does not go to the bottom of the list they are back on the list to find a more appropriate placement once the vacancy is available they will be contacted by our admissions department.

It depends on the day program you apply for. Once we receive the application for the day program the individual chooses. We process the application through our admissions department and then contact the Service Coordinator and the family to set up a tour of the day program. After the tour of the program the admissions committee reviews the individual and sees if there is a vacancy available for the individual and if they can support the needs of the individual. If there is not a vacancy at the day program, we would place the individual on the waitlist for that specific day program and contact the service coordinator as well as the family once a slot opens.

Find out more about our Day Services or download the Family Residences and Essential Enterprises application for services.

We are a full service agency that provides residential and day services to persons with mental illnesses, including those that are homeless, and persons’ with developmental disabilities.

Find out more about our Continuing Day Treatment, the Family Wellness Center and our Residential Programs.

We provide residential services to homeless persons with a qualified severe and persistent mental illness. These residential services may be simply just providing an apartment or bedroom within an apartment to live in, however some of our residential services may be coupled with case management services.

First, a person has to be eligible for homeless services. In order to eligible, you have to be homeless, under HUD guidelines: the term “homeless” or “homeless individual or homeless person” includes:

1. an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and
2. an individual who has a primary nighttime residence that is:
   • a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill);
   • an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or
   • a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

Second, we have to have a vacancy within an apartment living situation, then we list that vacancy with the Single Point of Access (SPA). Once listed, the Single Point of Access sends us an application of persons that are appropriate for those vacancies.

The Single Point of Access, otherwise known as SPA, is the central conduit for all mental health residential services in the counties that you reside. Family Residences currently works with the Long Island Single Point of Access serving Nassau and Suffolk County. The Single Point of Access works closely with the Office of Mental Health and each county’s mental health service agency to facilitate mental heath service provision on Long Island.

You can call their main number 631-231-3562 or download the application here.

A qualified mental illness is part of a set of disorders recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, and formally diagnosed by a licensed medical practitioner specializing in psychiatric disorders. It is usually characterized as severe and persistent where that many of a person’s life’s functions are significantly affected, and they are dependent upon the mental health system for ongoing care.