Jay S Levy

Jay S. Levy has spent more than thirty years working with individuals who experience homelessness. He is the author of the highly acclaimed book Pretreatment Guide for Homeless Outreach & Housing First. Jay's 2018 project was a collaborative effort with several authors from the UK. It is entitled Cross-Cultural Dialogues on Homelessness: From Pretreatment Strategies to Psychologically Informed Environments. He has also published a monograph and several journal articles on Homelessness issues.He...See more

Jay S. Levy has spent more than thirty years working with individuals who experience homelessness. He is the author of the highly acclaimed book Pretreatment Guide for Homeless Outreach & Housing First. Jay's 2018 project was a collaborative effort with several authors from the UK. It is entitled Cross-Cultural Dialogues on Homelessness: From Pretreatment Strategies to Psychologically Informed Environments. He has also published a monograph and several journal articles on Homelessness issues.He developed Pretreatment as an approach for helping people without homes who are often deemed "not ready" and excluded from housing and/or recovery-oriented services and treatment. He has helped to create new Housing First programs such as the Regional Engagement and Assessment for Chronically Homeless program (REACH).Jay is currently employed by Eliot CHS-Homeless Services as a Regional Manager for the statewide SAMHSA-PATH Homeless Outreach Team. As an adjunct teacher at Anna Maria College, he recently taught a unique graduate psychology course on Outreach Counseling, which integrated Pretreatment and PIE perspectives with the clinical challenges of homeless services work.He has achieved formal recognition from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Mental Health for his ongoing efforts to help under-served homeless individuals through his direct service, clinical supervision of staff, and program development. Jay received his MSW degree in clinical social work from Columbia University in 1988.Jay lives in Western MA with his wife, Louise, who teaches science at a local high school. His two children, Talia and Sara, have both graduated college and have begun their initial journeys into career-related activities. More information on Jay and his work can be found at www.jayslevy.com. See less