Working with Vulnerable Tenants with Psychiatric Disabilities
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Housing Unlimited is committed to community integration and independence for these renters by providing renovated scattered-site homes that offer independent living for individuals in mental health recovery.
Abe also shares why clear, respectful, and consistent communication is essential in landlord-tenant relationships—and why keeping those interactions focused on traditional housing matters makes a meaningful impact. Residents feel more empowered when communication is handled thoughtfully and when they have access to off-site support.
Further, he highlights the value of proactively building relationships with local mental health crisis-support providers. If a tenant experiences a crisis, government agencies and other stakeholders may be available to help. Many communities now offer mobile response teams that provide humane, expert outreach—making it essential to understand the resources available in your area.
About Our Guest
Abe Schuchman has served as the Executive Director (now CEO) of Housing Unlimited, Inc. since Housing Unlimited began operations in December 1994. Housing Unlimited is a supported living housing corporation that provides permanent, safe, affordable, and independent housing to low-income adults in mental health recovery in Montgomery County, Maryland. Mr. Schuchman, working closely with Housing Unlimited’s strong and active Board of Directors and staff, has coordinated all of Housing Unlimited’s affordable housing acquisition and management operations to date. This includes the purchase of ninety-four (94) scattered site residences serving a total of two hundred and fifty-seven (257) adults. In addition, Mr. Schuchman initiated Housing Unlimited’s award-winning Tenant Empowerment program; the program has multiple components, all of which are designed to create concrete, meaningful incentives and opportunities for Housing Unlimited tenants to move forward on the road to a life of independence and dignity.
Since 2019, Mr. Schuchman has served on the Executive Committee of the Montgomery Housing Alliance. Mr. Schuchman served on the Montgomery County Interagency Commission on Homelessness from 2017 to 2019. In addition, Mr. Schuchman served on the Board of Directors of Non-Profit Montgomery from 2014 to 2020 including two terms on the Board’s Executive Committee. In 2010, Mr. Schuchman was one of 45 community leaders selected for the FY11 Class of Leadership Montgomery. In 2009, Mr. Schuchman was one of 20 Executive Directors selected to participate in the Weinberg Fellows Program, a program of leadership and non-profit management training for Executive Directors of Maryland non-profit organizations.
Before becoming Housing Unlimited’s first Executive Director, Mr. Schuchman served as a staff attorney with the Virginia Legal Aid Society (VLAS) from 1992 to 1994. At VLAS, he specialized in providing technical assistance to non-profit community-based organizations that focused on affordable housing issues. Prior to his work at VLAS, Mr. Schuchman attended New York University School of Law and graduated in 1992. At NYU, he was awarded an NYU Root-Tilden-Snow Public Interest Law scholarship as well as an NYU Vanderbilt Medal for public service to the community.
