Stable Housing Is Part of the Treatment
For adults living with serious mental illness, emergency shelter alone isn't enough. NRVHP coordinates with local mental health partners to connect people to permanent, supportive housing — where stability and recovery can happen together.
Adults with SMI have access to long-term supportive housing — not just emergency shelter
Serious Mental Illness & Housing
Housing Instability and Mental Illness Are Deeply Connected
Adults living with serious mental illness — including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression — are significantly more likely to experience housing instability. At the same time, unstable housing makes it far harder to manage symptoms, attend appointments, or maintain treatment.
NRVHP works alongside New River Valley Community Services (NRVCS) — the region's community services board — to identify adults with SMI who are homeless or at risk, and connect them to housing options that include the clinical and peer support they need to stay housed long-term.
Available Programs
Housing Options for Adults with SMI
Permanent Supportive Housing
Long-term housing with no time limit, paired with flexible on-site or community-based mental health services. Designed for people who need ongoing support to remain stably housed.
Assertive Community Treatment (ACT)
A multidisciplinary team — including psychiatrists, nurses, and case managers — that delivers intensive, community-based services directly to individuals who need the highest level of support.
PATH Program
Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) provides outreach and case management to connect homeless adults with serious mental illness to housing and community services.
Coordinated Entry Priority
Adults with SMI who are chronically homeless receive prioritized placement through NRVHP's Coordinated Entry system — matching people to the most appropriate available housing resource.
Housing First
"You don't have to have everything figured out before you can have a safe place to sleep."
The Housing First approach means mental health treatment and sobriety are supported — not required — before housing is provided.
How to Get Connected
Two Paths to Support
Call either line — both can start the process for housing and mental health services.
Central Intake
Call the NRV Housing Partnership intake line. Let them know you or someone you know is an adult living with a serious mental illness — they'll connect you to the right housing pathway.
(540) 639-3159NRV Community Services
New River Valley Community Services (NRVCS) is the regional community services board providing mental health, developmental, and substance use services — and a direct path to supportive housing referrals.
(540) 961-8400Calling on behalf of someone else?
Family members and case managers can call intake to start the referral process.