An Innovative Approach to Healthcare for the Chronically Homeless
Have you ever been so sick you couldn’t face getting out of bed much less going to work? Imagine what it must be like for individuals facing chronic health conditions that are constantly sick. Now, imagine what it would be like to be always sick without even a home to call your own.
Helping people in this situation is why Community of Hope hired Assata Tafari to fill an innovative new position – Wellness Coordinator. For the last 3 years, she has worked with families in our Home Now Permanent Supportive Housing Program and helped them navigate a complicated health system, follow their doctor’s orders, and get the healthcare appointments they need.
75% of families in our Home Now program have a family member in the home with a chronic physical health condition. Families who worked with Assata for at least 6 months increased their use of all major preventative services. In addition, the majority of families reported that they were less likely to feel impeded by their physical or emotional health issues.
One woman, Mary Richards*, is a single mother with four children. She suffers from hypertension and diabetes and is still recovering from a debilitating stroke. She wasn’t taking her medications and wasn’t seeing a doctor. Assata connected her with a physician at Community of Hope’s Marie Reed Health Center. Mary’s Community of Hope physician worked with her to make sure she received the medical care she so desperately needed. Because of Community of Hope’s breadth of programs, Mary was able to get treated for her health conditions, get support for herself and her children, and remain stably housed.
Assata shares, “I can’t imagine how we can solve the problem of chronic homelessness without looking at the chronic health conditions. I find that most of our families are missing basic education on how to manage their chronic health condition, navigate the healthcare system, and find resources to specialists.” Without this extra help, many families fall back into homelessness as their health deteriorates and they’re unable to keep a steady job, maintain their housing, or even get out of bed.
Community of Hope is one of the few organizations working to end homelessness in DC that has a full-time staff member focused on clients’ health needs. Because of our long-standing programs in both healthcare for the underserved and housing support for homeless families, we are uniquely poised for integrating these services and seeing outstanding outcomes.
In all of our successes, we are aware of the creativity and generosity of our supporters, especially the Consumer Health Foundation and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, who made this pilot possible, and all our other supporters whose faithfulness enables us to try new programs that have the potential to transform lives.
*Names and identifying information have been changed to protect the identity of the client.
*Photo by Liza Harbison
To view the summary of the report on our Wellness Coordinator program, click below.
