​Oakland Community Health Network – OCHN (formerly OCCMHA)*

In order to live successfully in an integrated community, some individuals find they need a little extra help in terms of supports. While a number of persons rely on help from their family and friends, there may still be a need for additional supplemental help. For others natural supports are limited, requiring the person to look for additional resources within the community.

For many people and families, Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority (OCCMHA) serves to bridge this gap with its partners by providing resources to those in need of assistance. These services can help move a person from looking at the community to being part of the community. OCCMHA has been serving Oakland County’s residents since 1964. The OCCMHA is the manager of public mental health services and supports in Oakland County.

OCCMHA Contact Information
2011 Executive Hills Blvd.
Auburn Hills, MI 48326-2944
Administrative Office: (248) 858-1210
Information and Eligibility: (800) 231-1127
Crisis: (248) 456-1991
Meeting Hotline (248) 858-7590

The OCCMHA plays a unique role in the provision of services to persons with developmental disabilities and/or severe, persistent mental illness in Oakland County. Instead of directly providing services, the Authority offers funding to a variety of core service provider agencies that, in turn, make direct services available to members of the consumer population.

The OCCMHA mission looks to the advancement of social equity and improved quality of life for adults with mental illnesses, children with severe emotional disturbances, and people of all ages with developmental disabilities.

To be eligible for OCCMHA services, an individual must evidence severe, persistent mental illness, childhood emotional disturbance, or a developmental disability. An individual must be unable to be self sufficient in at least three of the following areas: personal hygiene and self-care, self-direction, activities of daily living, learning and recreation, and/or social transactions and interpersonal relationships.

Common Ground conducts all intakes and assessment for people to become member of OCCMHA. Please contact Common Ground for information and eligibility at (800) 231-1127. After eligibility is determined, Common Ground’s intake staff will assist the individual in linking to needed and requested services.

As previously mentioned, OCCMHA contracts with many local agencies and organizations to provide a broad range of quality mental health services and supports to residents of Oakland County. Common Ground offers individuals, families, and support personnel assistance in navigating through the large and sometimes complex mental health system. The team is responsible for advocating for consumer access to supports and services, including accurate application of person-centered practices through individual, as well as systems level intervention. Customer services addresses concerns from consumers, the community, providers, and colleagues. They attempt to resolve issues by promoting self-advocacy, providing information, and education. To contact Customer services, call 1-800-341-2003.

Common Ground In addition to providing intake for OCCMHA services, Common Ground also provides a great deal of counseling services including 24 hour monitoring if needed.

CMH INTAKE: (800) 321-1127
Information and Referral (800) 231-1127
24 Hour Crisis Screening (248) 456-1991
Crisis Line: (800) 231-1127
Phone: (248) 456-8150

OCCMHA provides Psychiatric services and case management for persons with serious and persistent mental illness and/or dually diagnosed through supporting the following agencies:

• Easter Seals Michigan
• Community Network Services, Inc.
• Community Network Services Farmington Hills
• Training and Treatment Innovations
• Macomb-Oakland Regional Center, Inc.

OOCMHA offers job and life training by supporting Clubhouses and Drop-in centers:

• Clubhouse Inspiration
• Dreams Unlimited Clubhouse
• Our House Clubhouse
• Visions Clubhouse
• F.A.I.R. Drop-In Center
• The Comfort Zone Drop-In Center
• South Drop-In Center

OCCMHA supports families with children with serious emotional disturbances by supporting the following agencies efforts:
Easter Seals Michigan
North Oakland Family Mental Health Center
South Oakland Family Mental Health Center

OCCMHA supports the following agencies that offer services for adults and children with developmental disabilities:
Macomb-Oakland Regional Center, Inc.
Community Living Services

To help people seeking services for substance abuse, OCCMHA supports:
Oakland County Health Division Office of Substance Abuse Services
Prior Authorization and Central Evaluation (P.A.C.E.)
(248)858-5200

To get help with nursing home services, go to www.occmha.org

Community Housing Network, Inc. (CHN) is also supported by OCCMHA. CHN serves the members of OCCMHA by providing a single agency that interacts with all the other agencies to solve individual housing issues by seeking and creating affordable housing opportunities. CHN is a 501(C) 3 non-profit community economic development organization that promotes the economic self-sufficiency and inclusion of people with special needs and people of low to very low income in their communities through home-ownership and access to affordable, desirable housing opportunities, and other community resources.

CHN works in partnership with support coordinators and agencies to seek individualized, creative solutions to the housing needs of our consumers. We believe that people with disabilities will:

• Attain safe, decent, affordable housing of their choice
• Have control of who they live with, if anyone, including other people with disabilities and/or people who do not experience a disability
• Housing choices are separate from the attainment of other supports or services.
• CHN facilitates the utilization of local, state, federal, and private resources to promote sustainable, affordable housing opportunities in Oakland County.

Brief history

CHN began operations in 2001 when a staff of three embarked upon a local initiative to create and manage housing resources for people with disabilities. CHN contracted with the Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority to address the housing needs of persons with disabilities in three areas.

• to address the escalating cost of group home leases and to provide property management for nearly 180 licensed group homes

• to create alternatives to group homes by generating and managing various assets.

• CHN has begun to reconfigure existing leasing arrangements with for-profit property owners and has begun to address the issue of runaway rents and lost equity. The organization has purchased some group homes, in part by obtaining assistance from the Federal Home Loan Bank – Indianapolis and plans to continue acquiring properties to build critical equity.

• A central point where people can obtain information about affordable housing and available resources. The result was the Housing Resource Center.

*As of May 1, 2017, OCCMHA is now Oakland Community Health Network (OCHN)