The Crossroads community based program serves homeless women with co-occuring mental illness and substance addiction.  Prior to entry into the program, they have been living in their vehicles, in homeless shelters or directly on the streets.  Because of their unstable lifestyle, they frequently cannot or do not access regular psychiatric care and medication and turn to substance abuse to self-medicate.  They often seek health care only on an emergent basis and suffer from a number of chronic health conditions.  They frequently struggle with cognitive impairments as a result of their substance use and history of trauma.  The instability of being homeless combined with a lack of education or work experience makes it almost impossible for them to gain employment or maintain employment long enough to save the neccesary money for getting an apartment.  Their struggle for survival and untreated mental health and substance disorders frequently causes them to cycle between homelessness and incarceration.  Many of them have children with them who are at risk for entering the same lifestyle. 

The Crossroads community based program begins with the provision of safe and stable housing in the community. Individual apartment units are utilized so that housing can be located near work, children's schools, needed bus lines or available support systems. Individual apartments also provide the opportunity for women to remain in the apartment after completion of the program thereby avoiding a destabilizing transition.

Support services at the Crossroads are client driven with each participant working with her comprehensive community support worker/case manager and other team members to identify her individual goals and strengths. Intensive wrap around services are designed to support the participants progree toward her self-identified goals. Support services include intensive comprehensive community support services/case management (case manager case loads are limited to 10 women and their children), group and individual counseling, including trauma based recovery groups, substance abuse treatment, parenting, and vocational skill building and assistance, life skills education and positive social activities. Through case management, clients are connected to psychiatric and medical care, any benefits for which they qualify, and other needed services. Services are highly individualized, but most women unless on or eligible for disability will be expected to work or attend school after an initial period of stabilization.

Many of the women have children in their custody. The family specialist works closely with the mother and collaborating agencies to coordinate services for the children.A vocational specialist also works individually with each client to assist in locating employment or enrolling in school or vocational training programs.  For women who have significant barriers to employment, The Crossroads offers an in-house vocational training and transitional employment opportunity at its retail store, The Crossroads Bazaar.  There, under the direction of a master's level counselor/store manager, the women can learn job skills and obtain some job experience to add to their resume. 

The Crossroads has a 24 hour crisis line with a rotating on call schedule and an independently licensed professional available for crisis intervention.

The length of stay in the program is expected to be approximately 2 years.  Discharge planning, including the location of permanent housing, is begun early in the process so that any ongoing needed supports are in place by the time of discharge.  One of those ongoing supports may be the continuing care program provided by the Crossroads.  This includes long term case management, crisis intervention, and group activities.