Health Care for the Homeless: What's New

Groups Rally for Health Care, Strong Safety Net

Common interests bring together diverse groups

ANNAPOLIS: On Thursday, February 26, 2009, more than five hundred health care providers, students, people experiencing homelessness, and advocates for the poor will gather at 9:45 a.m. in Lawyers Mall to send a strong message to lawmakers: strengthen health care and safety net programs. The rally brings together Health Care for the Homeless, the Maryland chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, the Students Sharing Coalition, the Maryland Affiliate—National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, and the Homeless Persons Representation Project along with other organizations and individuals committed to reducing poverty and homelessness in Maryland.

Participants will advocate for the full and timely implementation of Medicaid expansion and for a strengthened safety net to assist those in dire need. Speakers include legislators, activists, faith leaders, high school and college students, and formerly homeless people. Following the rally and throughout the day, participants will meet with elected officials to advance sensible solutions to the economic and health crises faced by a growing number of Marylanders.

“Dire economic times force more people into a safety net that already is overburdened and broken,” said Jeff Singer, President & CEO of Health Care for the Homeless. “While we work for universal access to health care, permanent affordable housing, and incomes high enough to prevent homelessness, we also must strengthen safety net programs that support vulnerable Marylanders.”

Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) provides health-related services, education, and advocacy to reduce the incidence and burdens of homelessness in Maryland. Last year, HCH provided medical care, mental health services, social services and addiction treatment for more than 12,000 Marylanders at clinic sites in Baltimore City, Frederick, and in Montgomery, Harford, and Baltimore Counties. 75% of HCH clients are uninsured; nearly all have incomes below the Federal Poverty guidelines.

Members of the press are welcome to ride with us by bus from Baltimore to Annapolis. For more information on Advocacy Day in Annapolis, please contact Adam Schneider at Health Care for the Homeless at 443/703-1398.

Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day Policy Forum

to Address Health & Human Rights

BALTIMORE – On Wednesday, December 10 from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. at Health Care for the Homeless (111 Park Avenue), a panel of service providers, advocates, and people experiencing homelessness will participate in a public discussion on Health Care as a Human Right. Free and open to the public, the policy forum is second in series of three in advance of National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day. Panelists include Dr. Sylvia Park, Director of Homeless Services for Baltimore Health Care Access; Jeff Singer, President & CEO of Health Care for the Homeless; Dr. Lawrence Egbert of Physicians for Human Rights and Physicians for Social Responsibility; Rosanna Miles, Senior Deputy Director of the Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative; and Brigitte Marti of Physicians for a National Health Program.

“Sixty years after the United Nations proclaimed the right to health care, at least 46 million Americans still find themselves uninsured and lacking health care,” said Jeff Singer, President and CEO of Health Care for the Homeless. “Even after decades of incremental reform, the injustice in our health care system remains, in the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. ‘shocking and inhumane.’”

For nearly two decades, National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day has been observed on or about December 21 – the first day of winter and the longest night of the year. A public memorial service will take place on Sunday, December 21 (5:00 p.m. at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor Amphitheatre), to remember those men and women who died in 2008 without a regular place to stay. Memorial Day events are organized locally by SHARP, a coalition of individuals and organizations working to “Stop Homelessness And Reduce Poverty.”

For additional information on the local commemoration of Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, please contact Adam Schneider at 410/837-5533 x1398 or aschneider@hchmd.org.

Health Care for the Homeless, Inc.

Groundbreaking Ceremony

Hillen Street & The Fallsway

Thursday, August 7, 2008 – 11:00 a.m.

Building a future without homelessness – from the ground, up.

Join HCH supporters as we “put shovels in the ground” to mark the start of construction on our new multidisciplinary facility – to include Maryland’s first dental program exclusively for homeless children and adults; improved individual and group treatment rooms; a pediatric clinic; an onsite pharmacy to serve HCH clients and surrounding neighborhoods; enhanced capacity for volunteers; better access employment and housing; and a healthy environment for clients, staff, and community.

We look forward to seeing you on August 7.

Please RSVP to Paul Day at 443-703-1336 or pday@hchmd.org.

Davis Vision to Provide Eyeglasses for the

Homeless in Baltimore

New resources support partnership between

Health Care for the Homeless and the Maryland Society for Sight

BALTIMORE: At 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 4, at Health Care for the Homeless (111 Park Avenue), executives from Davis Vision (the vision provider of Maryland’s CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield) will kick-off a new partnership with Baltimore’s Health Care for the Homeless and the Maryland Society for Sight to provide vision care and required eyeglasses to uninsured homeless individuals.

For more than 15 years, the Maryland Society for Sight has sent its Vision Van to Health Care for the Homeless twice each month to serve individuals who have no other access to vision screening and eyewear. Staffed by volunteer eye care professionals, the Vision Van serves hundreds of homeless individuals each year.

Davis Vision, invited by CareFirst to support the work of Health Care for the Homeless, has agreed to manufacture the eyeglasses at no cost on an ongoing basis for individuals served through this partnership. In February 2008, CareFirst announced a $300,000 grant to Health Care for the Homeless to help the organization increase the availability of medical services for Marylanders experiencing homelessness.

“The ability to see clearly is fundamental to a future without homelessness,” said Jeff Singer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Health Care for the Homeless. “We welcome Davis Vision to this innovative partnership to help more of our most vulnerable neighbors get off the streets and back into the mainstream.”

"By providing corrective lenses to those in need, we can initiate care immediately and help to correct or prevent conditions that might negatively affect a person’s vision or general health," said Davis Vision President and Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Carlomusto. “Davis Vision reaches out on an ongoing basis to the communities we serve in an effort to help those who have vision problems and no coverage or means to access proper routine care.”

The Vision Van will be providing services on the morning of June 4. A formal presentation will take place at 8:00 a.m. with Davis Vision President & CEO Joseph Carlomusto and representatives of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Health Care for the Homeless, and the Maryland Society for Sight.

Interview opportunities are available. For more information or directions to Health Care for the Homeless, please contact Kevin Lindamood at klindamood@hchmd.org

The first day of winter...

The longest night of the year.

Homeless Persons' Memorial Day

Friday, December 21, 2007

Please join us on December 21, 2007 4:30 pm at the Washington Monument in Mt. Vernon Park (located on the corner of N. Charles St. and E. Mt. Vernon Pl. in Baltimore) to honor and remember those who died homeless in 2007.

In the weeks leading up to Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, join Health Care for the Homeless and our partners for a series of public policy forums on issues related to homelessness and poverty.

To see video of the December 5 forum on the criminalization of homelessness, go to mms://media.law.umaryland.edu/clinic/homeless_forum12-5-07.wmv

Baltimore's commemoration of Homeless Persons' Memorial Day is organized by SHARP-- a coalition of advocates and service providers working to "Stop Homelessness and Reduce Poverty". For additional information, please contact Adam Schneider at Health Care for the Homeless, Inc., 443-703-1398 or aschneider@hchmd.org. To report the names of individuals who died homeless in 2007. please contact Kevin Morton, kmorton@vincentbaltimore.org.

Public Statement

August 15, 2007

Clients of our organization have made us aware of recent "sweeps" of public areas where people experiencing homelessness seek refuge. We were troubled to read again of similar sweeps on the website of The Sun this morning. Using the threat of force or intimidation to remove homeless individuals from public spaces (where they are not immediately restricting the public right of way) constitutes an inappropriate and ultimately ineffective response to the problem of homelessness. Furthermore, such action seriously compromises the outreach work of Health Care for the Homeless and others in the City working to establish positive relationships with homelessness individuals and help them get off the streets for good. When belongings are discarded, the loss of identification alone (birth certificates, social security cards, photo IDs, etc.) can disrupt for months the process of obtaining public benefits, health care, employment, and housing.

Without question, Baltimore City is witnessing an increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness who seek temporary refuge under bridges, in city parks, in abandoned buildings, down secluded side streets, and in other public places. This increase is fueled by the dearth of affordable housing, this decade’s doubling of housing prices in the private market, and inadequate federal and state support for housing and services. At the same time, the City is experiencing an erosion of its emergency shelter capacity. Baltimore shelters provided 3,167 fewer bednights in FY2006 (compared to the previous year) while they also had to turn people away on more than 11,000 occasions due to lack of space (DHR, 2007). Within the first six months of CY 2007, the City has lost approximately 400 shelter beds (with the closure of the Winter Shelter and the St. Ann’s Shelter) and may lose an additional 73 beds for women by October of this year. Shortages in both affordable housing and emergency shelter leave our most vulnerable City residents with few options other than the streets.

While we do not discount the reports of people experiencing homelessness who indicate that they were "moved along" or asked to leave certain areas, Health Care for the Homeless has been assured that it is not the policy of the current City Administration to forcibly sweep homeless individuals away from certain public spaces. We are pleased the City agrees with us that this would be counterproductive toward the goal of ameliorating homelessness. A broad cross-section of interest groups is working with the City to create real solutions to homelessness. Rather than trying in vain to "sweep away" our problems, this collaboration is the proper direction for our resources and attention.

We recommend the following responses in an effort to reduce the burdens of homelessness in Baltimore:

1. Prohibit all public "sweeps": Baltimore City should work actively with public and private agencies to ensure the immediate discontinuation of activities that in effect move individuals or belongings from public areas, as long as the public right of way is not impeded.

2. Stop arrests and citations directly related to homelessness: Baltimore City should ensure the discontinuation of arrests and citations for so-called "nuisance crimes" created by the realities of homelessness.

3. Establish effective citywide outreach: Baltimore City and nonprofit organizations should establish an effective, sufficient, and coordinated capacity of outreach workers as "first responders" to work with people experiencing homelessness who live private lives in public spaces. It is important for outreach efforts to remain distinct from public safety activities.

4. Establish sufficient emergency shelter capacity: Baltimore’s inadequate shelter capacity forces hundreds of people to sleep outdoors. We should create immediately a sufficient supply of low-barrier emergency shelter resources for people experiencing homelessness - understanding that shelter is only a temporary solution. Shelter space ought to be accessible by people with multiple health-related diagnoses and by those with mobility impairments.

5. Create and implement an affordable housing plan: Baltimore City should create and implement an effective plan to increase the supply of affordable housing. This plan will maximize the usage of current public housing resources, reverse the decline of affordable housing units in the City, and create supportive housing opportunities (including a range of services people may require to remain stably housed) specifically for people experiencing homelessness. Homelessness will persist until affordable house exists.

6. Implement City recommendations to address homelessness: Baltimore City will soon adopt the "Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness" created by Baltimore Homeless Services, its Leadership Council, and a host of interested parties. The City should begin implementation immediately and evaluate the plan annually.

Health Care for the Homeless provides health-related services, education, and advocacy to reduce the incidence and burdens of homelessness.

For more information, please contact:

Kevin Lindamood – klindamood@hchmd.org

Adam Schneider – aschneider@hchmd.org

Jeff Singer – jsinger@hchmd.org

June 27, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Health Care for the Homeless to serve 2,400 Marylanders annually in Baltimore and Harford Counties

BALTIMORE – Made possible by a $625,000 annual grant from the Federal Bureau of Primary Health Care, Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) soon will collaborate with partners in Baltimore and Harford Counties to provide a comprehensive range of health-related services for people experiencing homelessness in both jurisdictions. At fully capacity, a total of 2,400 individuals will receive care over the course of an estimated 6,200 patient visits each year.

The Northern Counties Health Care for the Homeless Project will facilitate access to services at the Baltimore County Eastern Resource Center and Franklin Square Family Health Center, at the Harford County Health Department in Bel Air, and through Upper Chesapeake Health’s mobile medical van to shelters in other areas of Harford County. This represents the largest expansion of HCH services in Maryland since the organization first branched beyond its Baltimore-based operation to provide financial resources to programs in Frederick and Montgomery County in 1989. Homeless individuals and families will receive a comprehensive range of medical care, case management, mental health services, addiction treatment, outreach, and access to public benefits, housing, and employment.

“Homelessness is hazardous to your health,” said Jeff Singer, President & CEO of Health Care for the Homeless. “That’s as true in Maryland’s counties as it is in Baltimore City. We’re pleased to create new partnerships to serve vulnerable Marylanders throughout the State.”

The Northern Counties Health Care for the Homeless Project is a collaboration among HCH, Franklin Square Hospital, Upper Chesapeake Health, Baltimore County Office of Community Conservation, and the Health Departments, Departments of Social Services, and Mental Health Core Services Agencies of Baltimore and Harford Counties.

Created in 1985, Health Care for the Homeless, Inc. provides health-related services, education, and advocacy to reduce the incidence and burdens of homelessness. Last year, the organization delivered medical care, mental health services, case management, addiction treatment, and outreach to more than 11,000 Marylanders over the course of more than 71,000 patient visits at clinic sites in Baltimore, Frederick, and Montgomery County. This represents a fraction of the 50,000 Marylanders thought to experience homelessness each year. Approximately 75% of HCH clients lack comprehensive health insurance. For additional information on Health Care for the Homeless or the Northern Counties Health Care for the Homeless Project, please contact Kevin Lindamood at 443-703-1303 or 410/916-6364.

Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day

December 21, 2006

If the grave consequences of life on the streets weren’t already apparent, the arrival of long winter nights draws increased attention to the growing problem of homelessness in our communities. Lower temperatures, higher housing and energy costs, and insufficient shelter resources contribute to the premature deaths of many of our neighbors.

On Thursday, December 21 – the first day of winter and longest night of the year – join Health Care for the Homeless and Baltimore City homeless service providers in remembering our neighbors who passed away this year without a secure place to live.

National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day is recognized in cities across the country on the first day of winter. In 2005, more than 100 communities held events to draw attention to the tragedy of homelessness, to remember those who paid the ultimate price for our nation’s failure to address the issues of extreme poverty, and to recommit to the important task of ending homelessness.

The public is invited to a 4:30PM memorial service in War Memorial Plaza (in front of City Hall – 100 N. Holliday Street) in downtown Baltimore. Faith communities throughout the City are asked to ring their bells at 5:00pm – once for each person who died.

For additional information on Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day or to report the names of individuals who died homeless in 2006, please contact Adam Schneider at Health Care for the Homeless: 410/837-5533 x398 or info@hchmd.org.

For more information on National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, visit the National Health Care for the Homeless Council at www.nhchc.org.

“COUNTDOWN HOMELESSNESS”

Service providers and advocates host public forum on State plan to end Homelessness

BALTIMORE : On Wednesday, September 13, advocates and service providers will host “Countdown Homelessness” – an informational forum on Maryland’s Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness – from 3:00pm to 4:30pm at Our Daily Bread located at 411 Cathedral Street in downtown Baltimore . Free and open to the public, the forum comes just two weeks after advocates and the State “started the clock” on a public commitment to make homelessness increasingly rare and brief within the coming decade.

“Countdown Homelessness” will feature a review of the Ten-Year Plan by Greg Shupe, Director of the Maryland Office of Transitional Services and staff to the Maryland Interagency Council on Homelessness. Joanna Shoffner, Associate Director of the Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute, will analyze the latest U.S. Census Bureau report on poverty, incomes, and the uninsured. Advocates will be on hand to discuss their own priorities for fulfilling the Ten-Year Plan and to publicly unveil the ten-year countdown clock, which will then be on display at the Health Care for the Homeless clinic in downtown Baltimore . The event is sponsored by SHARP – a coalition of public and private organizations and individuals working to “Stop Homelessness And Reduce Poverty.”

“We have a long way to go, but we’re encouraged by the vision inherent in the Plan,” said Stephanie Archer-Smith, Chair of SHARP. “We’re very pleased the countdown has started and look forward to the day when the experience of homelessness is rare and brief in Maryland – a day when housing is affordable, incomes are livable, and comprehensive health care is accessible for all.”

“The Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness represents an unprecedented public commitment to enact the policies necessary to end homelessness,” said Jeff Singer , President & CEO of Health Care for the Homeless, a member of the SHARP coalition. “We pledge to hold the State and ourselves accountable to achieve this laudable goal.”

Following a Federal request, the Maryland Interagency Council on Homelessness finalized its recommendations in December 2005. Maryland ’s Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness – now endorsed by eleven State Departments and the Office of the Governor – contains plans for improved access to affordable housing, comprehensive health care, sustainable wages and disability assistance, and enhanced interagency coordination.