Keystone House, Inc. was founded in 1972 by a group of citizens interested in establishing a residence for mentally ill adults in lower Fairfield County. A twelve-bed halfway house was opened with a grant of $21,523 from the State of Connecticut Department of Mental Health and $82,500 was raised through a successful capital fund drive.
In 1977, Keystone received approval to expand its services from the State Department of Mental Health, and their support of the agency was raised to $65,545. This enabled Keystone to open a Supported Apartment Program in which Keystone sublet an apartment in the community to clients, offering them an opportunity to live more independently than a halfway house permits, while still receiving support from staff.
In recognition of the growing needs of the community, Keystone's services continued to expand. In 1980 Keystone was selected as one of 100 programs nationwide for participation in the final HUD/HHS Project for De-institutionalization of the Chronically Mentally Ill. This grant provided Keystone with construction money and HUD Section 8 assistance for clients serviced in the Halfway House.
In 1986, after a local needs assessment, Keystone was asked to raise money for the purchase of a local residence for specialized housing for the mentally ill. Keystone also agreed to raise the money for renovations that would be needed. Forty-eight thousand dollars was raised for a down payment; Keystone raised $151,000 for needed renovations, a residence was purchased on St. John Street, Norwalk, and an eight-bed group home was opened for the people who have been hospitalized for prolonged periods.
At the same time mental health practitioners in the Greater Norwalk area determined that a significant unmet need existed for social rehabilitation and vocational services. As a result of a meeting of 14 organizations offering mental health treatment, Keystone was asked to expand from solely providing residential services to offering a full complement of rehabilitation services. In 1987, Keystone's Community Living Center and Employment Options programs were opened.
THE COMMUNITY LIVING CENTER offers comprehensive social skill
development programs and work readiness preparation. Clients learn how
to manage their household, budget time and money, and build communication
skills in social settings. They learn work skills, enter job training
and find paid or volunteer work.
KEYSTONE EMPLOYMENT OPTIONS (KEO) provides clients individual support to secure and maintain competitive employment. To ensure job success, clients are counseled individually, receive on-site training and take part in the KEO Job Club. Successful since its inception, KEO was nominated for a national award as a model program by Former State of Connecticut Department of Mental Health Commissioner, Dr. Hogan.
In 1992 THE CLEAN TEAM, a client-operated contract maintenance service, was created to fill a gap in services for clients who wanted to work, yet were unable to meet the rigors of competitive employment without intensive skill training and support. In 1998, KEO became a contractor for the State of Connecticut Bureau of Rehabilitation Services and broadened its mission to include vocational services to individuals with a broad range of disabling conditions.
In 1992 several economic, political and policy changes within the Department of Mental Health created the opportunity to develop a wider array of residential alternatives for clients requiring 24-hour supervision. Responding to this opportunity, Keystone created the INTENSIVE SUPPORTED APARTMENT PROGRAM. Reflecting a "cutting edge" technology in psychiatric rehabilitation, the program has been characterized as a "group home without walls." Rather than provide the constant, intensive rehabilitation of the TRANSITIONAL GROUP HOME and HALFWAY HOUSE PROGRAMS, the Intensive Supported Apartment Program delivers its supportive and rehabilitation services when and where they are needed, as clients reside in their own apartments throughout the community.
In October 1994, Keystone was HONORED BY THE CONNECTICUT ASSOCIATION OF RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES with its annual program services award within its Mental Health Division. The award was "In recognition of outstanding program performance and contribution to community residential services for persons with mental illness."
In 1995, responding to a Request for Proposal from the Department of Mental Health that challenged agencies to address the growing problem of co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorders, Keystone was awarded funding to create DUAL DIAGNOSIS SERVICES. Employing an integrated model of dual diagnosis treatment, with cross-trained staff and a harm reduction philosophy, Keystone developed a program that featured case management and residential support technologies as the core services.
Over the years, Keystone has developed many new and innovative program components to its various programs. These components have continued to offer a variety of opportunities to persons needing and wanting them, while also increasing the capacity of the number of persons served. The PILOTS collaborative with the Family and Children's Agency, Interfaith Association and the Human Services Council was developed in 2000, and builds on the agency's supported apartment programs. A component featuring the use of dialectical behavioral therapy as a symptom management tool was developed in the Dual Diagnosis Program in 1998, and subsequently has been utilized agency-wide since 2001.
Only 15 years ago, Keystone served 28 residential clients annually. Today, more than 200 recovering persons with mental illness in Keystone's six programs are offered vocational, social and residential services that focus on increasing independence and community integration, while ensuring an optimum quality of life for the persons served.