By: Shelley McKinley
Omar Sesay, Program Director for e Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD, currently leads three outreach programs that target the homeless of Harris County with the intent of reducing the number of people living on the streets. The programs are: PATH which stands for Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness; HOT which stands for Homeless Outreach Program; and SUDOP which stands for Substance Use Disorder Outreach Program. Each of these programs focus on the individual and what he or she needs immediately, like shelter, followed by a menu of services. As Sesay explains, “There is a difference between mental health and mental illness. We all have mental health. Protect it. It is okay to seek assistance.”
PATH is a program that provides clinical mental health and non-clinical services to adults ages 18 or older who are both homeless and have a mental illness or co-occurring substance use disorder. The goal of the program is to improve the individual’s quality of life by connecting them with ongoing outpatient mental health services at The Harris Center. Intakes for new clients are performed every morning on a rst-come, rst-serve basis. Individuals experiencing homelessness can walk-in to request services (no referral required). Individuals may also be referred by other shelters and homeless providers, other Harris Center programs, Houston Police Department (HPD), Harris County Sheri ’s O ce (HCS), Homeless Outreach Team, or local hospitals. The PATH program is a grantfunded program by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC).
HOT is a specialized team of one sergeant, six HPD Police Officers, one Metro PD o cer, one senior peace o cer, and three Mental Health Care Coordinators who engage in street outreach to the homeless community to provide outreach services and case management to individuals who are homeless and experiencing a serious behavioral illness. The goal of the team is to reduce the number of people who are homeless and living on the streets. The HOT Team collaborates with the Houston Police Department’s Mental Health Division to serve individuals of all ages. Referrals may come from the client, family, friends, law enforcement, businesses, or agencies. Services include referrals for housing (i.e., shelters, personal care homes, sober living facilities, etc.), social services, substance use treatment, behavioral health treatment, and primary healthcare. Admissions to more restrictive levels of care when necessary are also made.
SUDOP allows Community Health Workers to provide intake assessments and make referrals to detox and/or outpatient services for individuals in the community. SUDOP operates as a community outreach program that responds to individuals experiencing substance use disorders and/ or mental health disorders who desire change and need assistance in building a foundation for their recovery. e SUDOP team is a multidisciplinary team of psychiatrists, Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN), Master-Level Clinicians, Care Coordinators, Psychiatric Technicians, and Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselors (LCDC). SUDOP services are available for adolescents and adults ages 14 years or older.
In his spare time, Sesay also serves as the Team Behavioral Health Clinician for the Houston Texans which he has done for the past four years. In a Dec. 2022 Houston Chronicle interview, Tavierre Thomas credited Sesay for advising him to embrace counseling and focus on his mental health following an injury. Initially Thomas got texts from Sesay, but eventually returned the texts with phone calls, starting his counseling journey. “ is role ts me. I come from a family of athletes. I played college basketball on a scholarship and my brother played professional basketball. My parents are immigrants from Sierra Leone and my father played soccer professionally. My sisters were athletes, too,” stated Sesay describing how he relates to the Houston Texans players.
Sesay is a board member of B Free 2 Fly International (BF2F), an organization near and dear to his heart because it is a non-pro t organization addressing domestic violence. He advocates for his younger sister who was murdered in 2016 by her boyfriend. Education and prevention are some of the services that the organization provides. Concerning mental health in the Black community, Sesay commented, “Society has given a false perception of mental illness. Stigma is still there so people find ways to mask it. We have to check on each other and not allow things to get worse. Black mothers are seeking help for their sons. It is also becoming more prevalent for males to seek help.” Sesay’s background is unique allowing for a Pan-African perspective. He immigrated from Sierra Leonne in the 8th grade when his parents sent for him. Omar Sesay is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor (LPC-S). He is a graduate of Willowridge High School, and earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Central Arkansas. He got his Master’s degree at Prairie View A&M University, and is currently a Ph.D. Health Psychology Candidate at Walden University. He is a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and several state and national counseling organizations.
