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Confidence in Life is a Beautiful Thing: Pete Badenhausen
Pete Badenhausen
"Confidence on a Golf Course is a beautiful thing," says Tiger Woods in a recent car commercial. Pete Badenhausen knows that it is the confidence he has gained in his life that has improved his golf game. Pete is a new homeowner- thanks to hard work and support from Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey (CSP-NJ) and his family.
It was nearly two years ago when EQUITY first introduced readers to Peter Badenhausen, who at the time was saving to buy a home of his own. Since then, he qualified for the Housing and Urban Development (HUD)\'s Section 8 Homeownership voucher and saved earnings through CSP-NJ's Individual Development Account (IDA) program that has enabled him to achieve his goal. On August 1st of 2006, Pete moved into a beautiful condominium in the community of his choice, which just happens to overlook the first tee of his favorite golf course.
It has not always been easy for Pete. After spending two years in the New Jersey State Mental Hospital, he is what some advocates call a psychiatric survivor. But Pete has done much more than just survive; he has literally been transformed from an incredibly shy, timid man to being a role model for all of CSP-NJ's consumers, becoming their first IDA participant to purchase a home.
A recent report produced by the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law (funded by the Center for Mental Health Services/Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration- CMHS/SAMHSA) correctly identifies that a lack of stable housing can have a devastating impact on people with psychiatric disabilities and indicates that segregated housing not only violates the Olmstead decision (mandating that the most integrated environments should be sought) but that people denied integrated housing are often barred from meaningful employment and community involvement opportunities. Yet, nowhere in the report is the homeownership option even mentioned.
Pete Badenhausen and CSP-NJ provide the mental health community with a different model- one predicated on the belief that given the right tools and supports, people with mental health issues can achieve the most integrated setting of all- owning one's own home in the community of their choice. It does not happen overnight, nor is it appropriate in every situation- both Pete and CSP-NJ would be the first to admit that. Yet, for many like Pete, just knowing that there are people that supported his goals and were willing to help him achieve them, made all the difference.
Pete started out small- first saving for a bicycle and then purchasing a car, which helped him maintain employment. Providing for what some have called a "gateway asset" (goods and services that promote economic self-sufficiency), was not only the key to improve Pete's economic circumstances, it also built his confidence. Pete never believed that owning his own home was a possibility until he started to accumulate small assets and sustain steady employment. It was through acquiring these small resources that gave him the self-assurance to pursue homeownership. That is a central tenant of the CSP-NJ program- build the belief in one's self that they deserve more and supply the skills and support to achieve those goals.
While CSP-NJ serves only consumers with mental health issues, the values of building self-confidence and enabling individuals to achieve markers of success can be applied to any program serving individuals surviving on limited incomes. Pete sums it up best: "It's hard when you don't have access to things such as homeownership, but it makes you feel good when you do and you can participate in society without having to be like society, you can just be yourself."
"Confidence on a Golf Course is a beautiful thing," says Tiger Woods in a recent car commercial. Pete Badenhausen knows that it is the confidence he has gained in his life that has improved his golf game. Pete is a new homeowner- thanks to hard work and support from Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey (CSP-NJ) and his family.
It was nearly two years ago when EQUITY first introduced readers to Peter Badenhausen, who at the time was saving to buy a home of his own. Since then, he qualified for the Housing and Urban Development (HUD)\'s Section 8 Homeownership voucher and saved earnings through CSP-NJ's Individual Development Account (IDA) program that has enabled him to achieve his goal. On August 1st of 2006, Pete moved into a beautiful condominium in the community of his choice, which just happens to overlook the first tee of his favorite golf course.
It has not always been easy for Pete. After spending two years in the New Jersey State Mental Hospital, he is what some advocates call a psychiatric survivor. But Pete has done much more than just survive; he has literally been transformed from an incredibly shy, timid man to being a role model for all of CSP-NJ's consumers, becoming their first IDA participant to purchase a home.
A recent report produced by the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law (funded by the Center for Mental Health Services/Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration- CMHS/SAMHSA) correctly identifies that a lack of stable housing can have a devastating impact on people with psychiatric disabilities and indicates that segregated housing not only violates the Olmstead decision (mandating that the most integrated environments should be sought) but that people denied integrated housing are often barred from meaningful employment and community involvement opportunities. Yet, nowhere in the report is the homeownership option even mentioned.
Pete Badenhausen and CSP-NJ provide the mental health community with a different model- one predicated on the belief that given the right tools and supports, people with mental health issues can achieve the most integrated setting of all- owning one's own home in the community of their choice. It does not happen overnight, nor is it appropriate in every situation- both Pete and CSP-NJ would be the first to admit that. Yet, for many like Pete, just knowing that there are people that supported his goals and were willing to help him achieve them, made all the difference.
Pete started out small- first saving for a bicycle and then purchasing a car, which helped him maintain employment. Providing for what some have called a "gateway asset" (goods and services that promote economic self-sufficiency), was not only the key to improve Pete's economic circumstances, it also built his confidence. Pete never believed that owning his own home was a possibility until he started to accumulate small assets and sustain steady employment. It was through acquiring these small resources that gave him the self-assurance to pursue homeownership. That is a central tenant of the CSP-NJ program- build the belief in one's self that they deserve more and supply the skills and support to achieve those goals.
While CSP-NJ serves only consumers with mental health issues, the values of building self-confidence and enabling individuals to achieve markers of success can be applied to any program serving individuals surviving on limited incomes. Pete sums it up best: "It's hard when you don't have access to things such as homeownership, but it makes you feel good when you do and you can participate in society without having to be like society, you can just be yourself."