News about poverty and homelessness
KANN Partners and Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) CFO Mary Jean Herron will discuss the recently-completed HCH clinic as part of the KANN Partners’ session of the Downtown Partnership workshop on building “green” in Baltimore City. The HCH building project received the USGBC Maryland 2009 Award of Excellence for New Construction Project of the Year and has applied for LEED Gold Certification.
The session takes place September 17, 2010. Click here for more information.
A memorial service for Nancy E. Fink (1952-2010) – the wife of HCH President & CEO Jeff Singer – will take place on Sunday, September 5, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. in the lobby of Health Care for the Homeless at 421 Fallsway (the intersection of Fallsway and Hillen Street in downtown Baltimore). A dessert reception will follow. Parking is available along the Fallsway, in the public lot under the Jones Falls Expressway, or in the Edison ParkFast lot north of the building (accessible on High Street off of Hillen or Fallsway). In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her honor to the Nancy Fink Fund at HCH.
Join us as we honor 25 years of Health Care for the Homeless on Saturday, October 2, 2010, from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm at our new clinic and headquarters at 421 Fallsway. Click here for more information.
The evening will include artwork by HCH clients and professional artists, live music by The Swingin’ Swamis, and catering by Linwoods Restaurant and Catering.
Tickets are $100 each. Click here to buy your ticket now!
On Monday, August 16, beneath a clear blue sky and hot sun, local artist Jay Wolf Schlossberg-Cohen begins the installation of a 108′ x 25′ mural on the south-facing wall of the Health Care for the Homeless clinic and headquarters at 421 Fallsway. Painted on 135 sheets of “parachute cloth,” the mural was designed and painted by HCH clients, staff, Board members, and community partners. The public is invited to a “mural unveiling” party on Sunday, September 12, at 11:00 a.m. Stay tuned for photos and updates.
More than 350 volunteers designed and painted the mural. Particular thanks to volunteers from Roland Park Country School, the Lauraville Community, Bank of America, and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.
Join us as we honor 25 years of Health Care for the Homeless on Saturday, October 2, 2010, from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm at our new clinic and headquarters at 421 Fallsway. The event, HCH in 2010: Closer to Home, is presented by CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. Thank you to PNC Bank and CBS Radio for also sponsoring the event.
The evening will include artwork by HCH clients and professional artists, live music by the Swinging Swamis, and food by Linwoods Restaurant and Catering.
On the morning of Tuesday, July 27, Nancy Fink (the spouse of HCH President & CEO Jeff Singer) died following a lengthy illness. Nancy was a woman of great strength, conviction, and determination; a wife and mother with a deep love of her family; and an accomplished researcher and educator for The Johns Hopkins University. The entire HCH community mourns her loss. The notice below ran in the July 29 edition of the Baltimore Sun.
FINK, Nancy E.
On July 27, 2010, NANCY E. FINK, wife of Jeff Singer, mother of Max and Zachary Singer, sister of Jeanne Fink Hofferberth and the late Louisa Fink Kahn. Also bereft are Stephan Kahn; Nick Kahn and Kim Tran; Ted, Kristin, and Daniel Kahn; Cindy and Jessica Montero; Bud Kahn; Scott Hofferberth and Chris Szczypinski; Stu Singer and Robin Mace; Robin Singer, Judy Berger, Emma and Leah Berger-Singer; Wendy Singer. David, Aaron, and Elizabeth Lynn; and Visal Duong. Nancy was a widely admired public health researcher and educator at The Johns Hopkins University.
A memorial service will be held on September 5 at 2:00PM at Health Care for the Homeless; remembrances and photographs can be emailed to nancyremembered@gmail.comfor inclusion. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be sent to The Nancy Fink Fund of Health Care for the Homeless, 421 Fallsway, Baltimore, MD 21202.
Health Care for the Homeless has been re-accredited by the Joint Commission (formerly the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations). HCH remains the sole independent homeless health care agency in the nation to have achieved these distinctions.
In June, 2010, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a three-year renewal grant for HCH’s Connect Project. Launched in 2000, the initiative provides intensive case management and supportive services to multiply-diagnosed individuals living with HIV/AIDS in order to help them remain stably housed and off the streets. The following excerpt is from the 6/30/10 HUD press release:
“Health Care for the Homeless, Inc. (HCH) is awarded a Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) permanent supportive housing renewal grant of $1,265,112 to continue providing permanent housing assistance to medically fragile, multiply diagnosed, HIV+ homeless individuals. The project provides five units of facility-based housing and three households will continue receiving Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA). Supportive services are provided to 60 households annually. The project is a collaborative partnership with Project PLASE and the Baltimore City Department of Social Services.”
HUD awarded a total of $2.6 million to HIV/AIDS supportive housing programs throughout Baltimore.
Connecticut First in Nation to Expand Medicaid Coverage to New Groups Under the Affordable Care Act
This week, Connecticut became the first state in the union – hopefully the first of many – to expand Medicaid coverage to new groups under the Affordable Care Act. HCH has encouraged Maryland to join Connecticut by expanding Medicaid to single childless adults ahead of the 2014 mandate. By expanding now, Maryland would receive a 50% match on funds until 2014, when the federal government would fully fund newly-eligible individuals. A thoughtful cost analysis might prove that expanding early could save Maryland millions of dollars at a time when every dime counts. Our clients can’t wait until 2014 for health care.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will begin requiring applicants seeking grant funding to comply with state and local laws that protect individuals from being denied housing based on their lawful source of income. This funding requirement is part of a broader effort by HUD to make certain grant applicants meet state and local anti-discrimination laws, including those prohibiting housing discrimination based on a person’s income, such as Section 8 Rental Assistance, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or earnings from seasonal employment.
Click here to read the full press release - http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2010/HUDNo.10-121
