The UPenn Collaborative and the National Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Psychiatric Disabilities at the University of Illinois are searching for new and innovative programs that help individuals with psychiatric disabilities to become financially independent:

The University of Pennsylvania Collaborative on Community Integration (www.upennrrtc.org), in partnership with the National Research and Training Center (www.cmhsrp.uic.edu/nrtc), is looking for descriptions of initiatives that help individuals with psychiatric disabilities take charge of their finances and pursue economic independence. Some examples could be efforts around financial planning, asset building (e.g., savings initiatives and home ownership initiatives), and any other supports and services that encourage individuals with psychiatric disabilities to take charge of their own finances. We intend to put descriptions of such initiatives together in a document to be distributed over the Internet.

Specifically, we are looking for the following information:

1. The name of your initiative.

2. Contact information for your initiative. Please include the following: Contact person, address, phone number, and email address that can be used by people interested in learning more about your initiative.

3. Brief description of your initiative. Please provide 3-5 sentences describing your initiative.

4. Indication of your willingness to allow other providers to contact you to ask further questions about the initiative you have devised.

Please contact Kim Lovelock (klove@mail.med.upenn.edu) to submit descriptions about your efforts to assist, or initiatives that you have developed to assist individuals with psychiatric disabilities in building their financial assets and if you need further information. We encourage you to let us know about your program, even if you cannot provide the information above.

We thank you in advance for your interest and participation. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Mark Salzer, PhD.
Director, UPenn Collaborative on Community Integration

Judith Cook, PhD.
Director and Professor, Center on Mental Health Services Research and Policy