AIDS HOUSING OF WASHINGTON 

Case Studies: The Altamont Program, Inc. 

Brief Summary

The Altamont Program is part of an integrated network (Peter Young Housing, Industries and Treatment) that operates and maintains in-patient, outpatient, residential facilities and counseling and evaluation programs for persons afflicted with the illness of alcoholism and substance abuse. The program also offers a wide range of vocational, educational and employment training programs and aftercare housing.

 Goals and Philosophy

The ultimate goal of the program is to rehabilitate individuals who are homeless, who have involvement with the criminal justice system and who have lost the life skills or the hope to function within society. The second goal is to assure a safe, clean and respectful environment, guaranteeing security of the residents and staff as well as ensuring that all residents have private quarters and are treated with respect and dignity. The third goal is to provide an effective network of adjacent services available to residents for all vocational, medical, outpatient and therapy needs. This involves coordination of community resources to assure that such needs are identified in the admission process and a plan of training and treatment is in place for the resident. This aspect of the program identifies such needs and provides an ongoing network of supportive services available to deal with mental illness, physical disabilities, chemical addiction, HIV/AIDS and whatever other factors are involved.

The two-fold purpose is not just "kicking the addiction,” but also establishing new values and new lives to break the cycle of recidivism, which reflects the life experiences of most ex-offenders. The essential mission is to prepare criminal justice clients for their return to the community as responsible and reputable members of society. The correct mix of treatment, housing, job training and employment will enable a powerless and dependent group of men and women to become stronger, contributing members of society in the community as a whole. Providing safe, affordable and decent housing is the beginning of that process.  

Background Information

These programs are based upon Father Peter Young's experience in working for over forty years with persons in recovery from substance abuse and alcohol addictions. As the Chaplain at Mount McGregor Correctional Facility, he first developed the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment (ASAT) program that eventually became the model for the New York State Correctional System. This program successfully served thousands of inmates across the state and enabled many to successfully reintegrate back into society.

During the course of his tenure at Mt. McGregor, he often heard inmates, who were about to be released from prison, comment that they were "all dressed up with no place to go." Although stung by the absolute hopelessness of this statement echoed by many in the state prison system, Father Young never gave up hope. This hope manifested itself during a viewing of the WWII movie, "Midway." As Father Young viewed the landing of a fighter plane on a large carrier, the concept of a “glidepath to recovery" came into being. Father Young's "glidepath to recovery" addresses the obstacles to successful recovery by providing guidance in the way of professional assistance, a secure place to stay, and the skills to obtain employment.

This experience led to the development of the Altamont Program and subsequent programs collectively known today as Peter Young Housing, Industries and Treatment (PYHIT). The PYHIT system, composed primarily of VESTA Community Housing Development Board, Inc., the Altamont Program, Inc., and Eight Twenty River Street, Inc., embody the "T.H.E." approach. Father Young describes this approach as the three legged stool of recovery: T for treatment, H for housing and E for employment/education. This integrated system of care has been the essential springboard for the successful reassembling of so many broken lives across the state.

In combination, PYHIT's programs offer an integrated system of care of residential and outpatient treatment for substance abuse, educational opportunities, vocational training, job placement training, case management services, and a variety of housing options (supportive transitional and permanent housing). This constellation of services provided by these three programs is designed to provide a continuum of care specific to homeless populations suffering from addictions and other disabilities, such as HIV/AIDS.

The New York State Education Department, Vocational Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID), working with the Altamont Program, developed an ex-offender pilot program for addicted criminal justice clients. It provides a vocational component for the return of the ex-offenders to the community as part of a pre-release planning process.  

The employment program focuses on the transition to the workforce (enter or reenter) for individuals who have been involved in the criminal justice system. The key issues are the ways to reduce barriers that make the transition difficult and, at the same time, provide the necessary case management services to ensure that the continued supportive service needs of the participants are not compromised once they return to the workforce. Job search and placement activities are the crucial components in which the goal is unsubsidized, competitive employment

At its core, the Altamont Program stresses the components of job readiness, job assessment, development, employment and post placement activities. Program components also address a larger variety of issues such as education, substance abuse and character development. 

Funding sources include HUD, the Homeless Housing Assistance Program, Community Development Block Grant funds, single room occupancy support program, Level II social service rate, negotiated shelter rates, a licensed shelter rate, and the Veterans Administration.   

Program Summary

The program operates 771 units of housing. During pre-release planning, a major focus of the work is to aid residents towards better coping with the practical and basic needs of life by better using social support systems within their community. The immediate adjustment problems following imprisonment are regularly and knowledgeably addressed. Also of great significance is learning how to detach from acquaintances within the drug culture.

The client population ranges in age from 16 to 68; approximately one-quarter are women, one-half are African American, one-quarter Latino/a, and one-quarter Caucasian. The average resident has a history of chemical dependency. Most have been trapped in life in the streets and the vicious cycle of welfare. Approximately 90 percent come from the courts; either parole, probation, or sentenced and an alternative to incarceration. About 90 percent are social service recipients, and about 50 percent have been homeless prior to entering the Altamont Program, Inc.  

Two nationally accredited assessment tools are used: Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) and Choices, an occupational skills instrument.

    TABE: The purpose of this assessment is to determine the current reading, mathematics, and language skill level of the client.

    Choices: Choices is a computerized pre-employment assessment tool. Three components of this assessment will be utilized by                 participants: the Interest Checklist, the Skills Checklist, and the Action Planner (resume builder and job search planner).

The vocational program instructs three groups in job skills:

1. Participants in the vocational training program in culinary arts, hospitality and computer applications, under a contract with the New York State Department of Education, Vocational Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID).
2. Participants in the direct placement job-skills program, under contract with local county Department of Social Services.
3. Participants in HIV Welfare-to Work direct placement job skills programs, under contract with the New York State Department of Labor.

All clients participate in weekly individual counseling and/or therapy sessions and have access to their primary counselor at any time should a crisis emerge. Clients are counseled, at a minimum, once per week (frequency will vary according to need).

Group Counseling is provided for 1½ hour sessions given by counselors on a daily basis. The Group purpose, or focus, is on addicts in recovery and ex-offenders seeking to re-enter society as law-abiding citizens. Group therapy meetings provide an opportunity for clients to discuss their problems, ideas, strengths and weaknesses for the greater understanding and growth of each.

As part of the recovery process, family members are invited to participate in their family member's recovery. Family support is a necessary and meaningful part of each client's success. Family members and visitors are allowed at all housing sites on scheduled days. 

The program has approximately 250 staff. Each housing option must meet certain criteria. For example: voluntary admission, completion of a course of treatment for alcohol or substance abuse. The typical progression includes moving from halfway house status, to supportive living, to transitional living and to permanent housing where the client achieves financial and psychological independence. Once a participant advances to permanent housing, the rent is determined by calculating one-third of the individual's income.

The Certificate of Occupancy (C.O.) process makes it easier to site housing for criminal justice clients and overcome the NIMBY issue. In contrast, the Certificate of Need (C.O.N.) process is often colored by emotion and misinformation. Obtaining permission to meet the C.O. requirements (and not those of the C.O.N.) enables the program to create the clean and sober housing that parolees need as a place to begin the process of recovering their lives. There are several different models which demonstrate that the dream of recovery in a residential setting need not conflict with or threaten community harmony.  

Learnings and Outcomes
(As stated by The Altamont Program:)

The key to success is the application of the “Wounded Healer” philosophy. We prefer to use this concept because we endeavor to get people who are wounded to then “in their changing of the negative to positive behavior” become healers. We form groups and associations and attempt to find ways to reward those for their positive behavior. We get the “Wounded Healers” to carry the message. It gives them pride, distinction, and self esteem, all of that makes their recovery feel important.

A major challenge is the federal block grant funding that gives counties control of Department of Social Service monies that are not following the client to the service delivery programs. The criminal justice client needs specialized programming and many parolees receive services from agencies with limited criminal justice experience. There has been a great deal of effort applied to the development of a reliable and objective assessment of the needs of various offender groups in the correctional setting. Correctional staff are interested in addressing the multiple needs of the offender, including areas of need that do not apply to recidivism, but apply to the importance of a caring and nurturing environment. From a rehabilitation perspective, needs have been addressed independently of recidivism. Different types of offenders present different needs. And yet, many agencies continue to apply a basic cookie cutter approach to treatment.

A study was conducted in 1997, in cooperation with the State University of New York, School of Criminal Justice. This study’s sample evaluated all inmates participating in Mt. McGregor Alcohol Substance Abuse Treatment Program (ASAT) between the years 1988-1992. The data indicated that subjects who received T.H.E. treatment recidivated less than their non-treatment counterparts and were also less likely to violate their parole.

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Last modified: 07/10/2007