This phase is predicated on constructing a routine. With this wisdom in mind, the introductory phase of the SPSH program is focused on identifying individual strengths; weaknesses; needs; available resources; goals; and potential barriers to achieving these goals to inform the journey ahead. This stage also allows for time to settle into a new space so that journey can be successfully sustained and supported.

The program is designed to be calibrated to optimally serve each individual resident. That process begins upon move-in when residents are supplied with a program handbook, an intake questionnaire, a blank calendar, a notebook, and pen. After a tour of the house, facilitating introductions to current residents and Resident Assistants, residents are prompted to complete a questionnaire designed to help determine what personal space and hygiene items the resident needs; whether the resident has secured essential personal identification items like a social security card; school enrollment, if applicable; and job status. This survey will help residents and staff begin to customize the SPSH program experience.

During this introductory phase, residents are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the program handbook to better understand how the program operates and what it has to offer them specifically. They are also provided space and time to acclimate themselves. Clarifying questions will be fielded, concerns addressed, and assistance -- for instance in arranging and organizing personal space -- will be offered. Residents will be prompted to reflect on their strengths, weaknesses, unique skills, and experiences.

Before this phase can be completed, a series of sessions between resident and support staff will be utilized to collaboratively create a consolidated schedule as well as draft a program plan with actionable objectives. School, work, therapy contacts, weekly check-ins with a mentor designated by the resident with guidance from staff, volunteer work within the community, and goal timelines will all be incorporated into the calendar. These tools will be intentionally implemented to help provide structure to the program, hold residents accountable to their six-month goals and accompanying milestones, and to keep them on track to discharge successfully, prepared to live independently.

Residents will begin and continue with therapy and mentor contacts. They will build healthy and functional relationships within the house. They will contribute to the upkeep of the house and will maintain personal living spaces. They will also learn to work and maintain their schedule and action plan generated in Phase One. This phase trains consistency and makes growth a daily, incremental process.

Ideally during this phase, which can last anywhere from two-to-four months, residents will sustain work, school, if relevant, and their community enrichment commitments; each resident is expected to volunteer at least 10-hours a month. Community, within the house and outside of it, is foundational to the program and focus groups will be hosted to help residents connect the symbiotic relationships between the well-being of the communities they exist in and their own well-being.

Financial literacy is also introduced during this phase as an accompaniment to job training. Residents are taught how to open and maintain a bank account and begin saving money so that by Phase 4, they have enough of a nest egg to support their initial exit from the program. 

As necessary and at least once during this phase, goals will be reviewed to ensure they are still aligned with the resident’s aspirations. Progress will be measured to aid residents in maintaining momentum.

In this phase, residents will also receive tutelage in networking, how to build relationships, and how to continually reinvent themselves as they grow. Therapy, mentoring, and volunteering will all continue and at this stage, will ideally start to become more meaningful. The routine, outlined in Phase One, should also be smoothed out at this point in ways that help the resident to function more efficiently and with intentionality.

While maintaining a job and a bank account, residents will receive instruction on how to budget. They will also undergo a financial needs analysis with a specialist to help them become more aware of potential future expenses and to learn how to operate fiscally to avoid debt, save proactively, and be financially stable. Residents will be informed of resources they can utilize to help them as they take their first steps outside of SPSH.

Pragmatically in this phase, residents will research housing, apply for housing, and eventually acquire housing to self-actualize their transition into independence. Theoretically, residents will learn the ins-and-outs of living on their own, getting a sense for how to navigate some of the nuances and complications of daily living. How to schedule appointments, how to shop, how to cook, how to clean, how to maintain holistic health, how to integrate rest and leisure etc. will all be covered.

Residents will continue to maintain therapy, volunteering, and mentorship. They will also be encouraged to incorporate therapy and volunteering into their lives outside of SPSH. Residents, with interest and aptitude, who successfully discharge will be recruited as potential mentors to future residents so that they have an opportunity to pay their experience forward and so that what is of value in the program can be reproduced and perpetuated.