HOUSING + HEALTH: STABLE HOMES WITH SERVICES

KEY PRESCRIPTION FOR IMPROVED HEALTH

By Steven Shum, CSH

Taking advantage of health reform, Bay Area communities are integrating healthcare efforts with affordable homes to better serve the most vulnerable individuals.

The Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) organized May’s Brown Bag on Health and Housing – highlighting new opportunities with Medi-Cal funding for supportive housing targeted to chronically homeless individuals and frequent users of crisis services. CSH trumpeted recent developments with California’s plan to implement the Health Homes option under the Affordable Care Act and the State’s submission of its 1115 Medicaid Waiver. These efforts represent key opportunities for local communities to leverage federal funding for supportive housing.

“We have been working diligently for more than 20 years to ensure steady and reliable funding to create and operate high quality supportive housing,” said Steven Shum, CSH’s Senior Program Manager in Northern CA. “And we’re on the cusp of exciting changes in the health and housing sectors.”

Panelist Preston Burnes, Provider Services Specialist with Health Plan of San Mateo, shared an update of their Community Care Settings Pilot – an innovative partnership targeting housing services and case management support to vulnerable seniors and other adults using health plan funding. The goal is to support these tenants in staying healthy and in their own homes for as long as possible.

Panelist Margot Antonetty, Interim Director of Housing and Urban Health with the San Francisco Department of Public Health, discussed the City’s long-standing supportive housing efforts for homeless individuals, including 2,100 supportive housing units currently in their portfolio. Their evidence shows that supportive housing efforts have resulted in reduced emergency and inpatient medical costs and improved health outcomes and quality of life for tenants.

To participate in upcoming informational sessions on the State’s plan for Health Homes implementation, please contact: steven.shum@csh.org