A Positive Look at Boarding Homes

The authors report on a project in Philadelphia in which boarding homes were successfully used to house former state hospital patients in a warm and therapeutic environment. The program was established jointly by the Jefferson Community Mental Health Center and Horizon House, a psychosocial rehabilitation agency. It drew the proprietors into the treatment program through close contact with professional staff and through meetings and seminars on various aspects of housing and care. The authors note that their positive experiences with boarding homes and their proprietors run counter to the negative experiences reported in much of the literature.