Who We Will Help

The primary target population for the new Camillus House campus is adult men and women who are considered to be chronically homeless. In Miami-Dade County, it is estimated that there are between 600 to 1,000 chronically homeless individuals, the majority of them residing within the City of Miami.

Individuals who are chronically homeless are typically more resistant to services and more difficult to engage into treatment and maintain on jobs and in housing. Therefore, Camillus House will employ a one-stop center approach to reach these individuals, which includes outreach, engagement and treatment methods specifically targeting the unique needs of this difficult-to-reach population.

Although Camillus House will primarily target persons who are chronically homeless at the new site, we will also serve a wide range of other persons who are or are at risk of becoming homeless in Miami-Dade County.  We estimate that, once fully operational, we will serve approximately 4,500 individuals per year (unduplicated – amounts noted with an asterisk are expected to represent duplicate usage), as follows:

  1. Emergency shelter: 1,250
  2. CHC medical respite: 365 (includes 100* duplicated usage)
  3. ISPA behavioral health treatment (primary referral source is emergency shelter): 200*
  4. Job Opportunity Bureau (residential and day services): 500
  5. Permanent housing: 85
  6. Homeless prevention: 500
  7. Other emergency/social/treatment services (including meals) without housing or treatment: 400
  8. Other medical encounters without housing or emergency/social/ISPA services: 1,300

Designed to solve the problem of chronic homelessness in the Miami community, the planned Camillus House project will effectively treat and rehabilitate the hardest to reach segment of the homeless population. The programs and infrastructure at this campus will apply a modified version of the one-stop approach, utilized so effectively by the Community Partnership for the Homeless, to engage, rehabilitate and empower individuals who are chronically homeless, but not seen in other cities including Miami. 

Encompassing over 250,000 square feet of facilities and programs, the project will feature an open air courtyard designed specifically to provide those individuals not yet ready to enter a formal program with a safe place to stay while trust and rapport are established and nurtured. A multi-disciplinary diagnostic center will assist medical and mental health/ substance abuse professionals, case managers and other providers with diagnostic information needed to prepare a complete assessment of an individual's physical and psychological health, employment capability, and future housing needs – laying out the most direct and successful path toward recovery from chronic homelessness.

Those individuals diagnosed with a mental illness, a substance abuse problem, or a co-occurring (mental illness and substance abuse) disorder will be able to access on-site Camillus House's Institute of Social & Personal Adjustment (ISPA). With a 89% success rate for individuals in active treatment, ISPA is one of the most successful, either publicly or privately funded programs in the country. For those individuals in need of job training and placement, Camillus House, through its on-site Job Opportunity Bureau (J.O.B.), will provide them with the skills, experience and support to find and keep meaningful employment. The program has partnered with local businesses and educational institutions to provide hands-on employment training through multiple career tracks.