x
Breaking News
More () »

Sacramento program inspires new ideas in Seattle’s homelessness fight

Leaders in the fight against homlessness in Sacramento visited Seattle to share ideas on new strategies.
Leaders in the fight against homlessness in Sacramento visited Seattle to share ideas on new strategies. (Photo: KING)

On Thursday, leaders in Sacramento’s fight against homelessness visited Seattle to share new ideas.

City council leaders from the California city first visited Seattle in 2016 for lessons on reducing homelessness.

“The city of Sacramento is trying to think through new ways of addressing this, so they brought together a variety of different players,” said Jessica Kendall of Transform Health, which is working with Sacramento.

Transform shared their integrative approach to combating homelessness by working to closely connect housing and healthcare. They created a database for continuity of care between a variety of agencies, and they maintain close contact with clients.

They focus on the chronically homeless that often end up seeking emergency medical care, especially difficult cases.

“Without housing, there are clear limits to what we can do in the health care system to drive health outcomes,” said Lisa Chan-Sawin, Transform’s president and CEO.

They believe the integrated approach is finding some success, which interested Seattle City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda.

“Many individuals who have experienced homelessness, who are experiencing homelessness have had a health complication that has either led them to being housing unstable or economically unstable,” she said.

“We must look at housing as a healthcare issue and provide needed health care so folks can remain housed,” said Kendall.

They said the program is high contact with many check-ins between care coordinators and patients. It’s funded through Medicaid.

For Mosqueda, it drove home that tackling homelessness in the region may mean looking to healthcare too.

“I think the lesson today is that we have to advocate for additional revenue and learn from best practices,” she said. “Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York – we’ve seen time and time again that for folks to remain housed, they need healthcare services.”

Before You Leave, Check This Out