Tucked away on a quiet cul-de-sac in an Escondido neighborhood, a group of mostly Jewish adults with mental illness are gradually taking back their lives.
Chesed Home — “chesed” is Hebrew for “loving kindness”, is a 12-bed board-and-care center for the Jewish mentally ill. Its mission is to help residents build the self-sufficiency, working, coping and social skills to permanently transition to independent living. Since Chesed Home opened three years ago, nearly half of its 20 residents have moved on to better living situations, a track record that its founders say is rare in the mental-health community.
“Most people with severe mental illness never leave board-and-care centers, but our goal is to help our residents get back into the world again,” said Fern Siegel, the founder of Hope Village San Diego, the nonprofit that runs Chesed Home.
Dr. David Feifel, director of neuropsychiatry at UCSD Medical Center, said residential programs that combine a supportive environment with prescribed medication have much better patient outcomes.
“We’re thrilled we now have Chesed House as part of our toolkit to treat patients,” he said. “We need more Chesed Homes all over the country.”
For the entire article written by Pam Kragen, please click here
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