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The Smart Homes demonstration initiative supports tenants with severe mental health issues.
The project objective is to establish and evaluate smart homes in the community to assist people with mood and psychotic disorders. Through prompts and other supports, “smart” systems are designed to help tenants to live independently in stable affordable housing.
A pilot demonstration in hospital apartments is expanded for testing into the community for eventual replicable use across Canada. The result will be better community integration of tenants with mental illnesses, of particular interest in remote and rural areas.
Innovation Highlights
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Demonstrate smart home technology to support community integration enabling integration into mental health care and/or treatment plans.
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Provide a replicable solution for housing instability among people living with severe mental illnesses.
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Improve the overall health of these tenants and decrease their reliance on health and social services.
DEMONSTRATIONS OUTCOMES
This demonstration project plans to establish and evaluate smart homes in the community to assist people with mood and psychotic disorders. The goal is to provide a replicable solution for housing instability among people living with severe mental illnesses.
Supports are needed for people experiencing functional and cognitive limitations related to organization, memory and problem solving in order to maintain housing. These people can live alone or with others.
After establishing a first-of-its-kind smart hospital apartment prototype through St. Joseph’s Health Care London , the apartments are being introduced in the community for further evaluation. Eight affordable housing units at Canadian Mental Health Association Middlesex (CMHA) and London Middlesex Housing Corporation (LMHC) will be outfitted with tenant-specific smart home technology.
These technologies will assist with:
- self-assessment of symptoms,
- appointment and medication reminders
- increase communication with healthcare practitioners
This type of support is expected to:
- encourage the tenants’ independence and community integration
- increase housing stability; reducing the potential for homelessness
- decrease health and social service utilization
- improve overall health
The project will provide evidence on community integration and health outcomes, as well as use of health, social, and justice services. The team anticipates that participants will experience greater levels of independence and autonomy in maintaining housing and self-care for mental health and chronic illnesses.
Project Team: London Health Sciences Centre Research Inc.
Location: London, Ontario and Middlesex County
Project Collaborators / Partners:
Canadian Mental Health Association (London Branch)
London and Middlesex Housing Corporation
InputHealth Systems Inc.
Rogers Communication Inc.
Get More Information:
Contact CMHC at innovation-research@cmhc.ca
Feeling inspired?
See how you can apply for a Demonstrations Initiative grant.
