Project Renewal selected to be part of Collaborative for Homeless Healthcare
/Project Renewal is honored to have been selected by The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to join its Collaborative for Homeless Healthcare.
Thanks to generous support from the Trust, Project Renewal will work with the New York City Department of Homeless Services, Care For the Homeless, and the Center for Urban Community Services to address the unique health needs of homeless New Yorkers over the next three years. The Collaborative will bolster connections between shelters, hospitals, and health social services; strengthen New York City’s homeless medical care system; and improve patients’ stability and well-being.
Helmsley announced the Collaborative via the following press release:
Collaborative Launches to Address Health Needs of New Yorkers Experiencing Homelessness
Helmsley Charitable Trust supporting NYC’s leading providers to improve the homeless healthcare system
(New York, NY) – January 28, 2019 –Today, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust announces the launch of the Collaborative for Homeless Healthcare, a new coalition of healthcare providers serving New Yorkers experiencing homelessness. The NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS) and three leading healthcare providers who have an exclusive focus on homeless patients – Care for the Homeless, the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS), and Project Renewal – will work together to better address the unique needs of people experiencing homelessness in New York City.
In New York City, limited information-sharing and coordination makes continuity of care for homeless patients difficult. As a mobile population, patients travel among shelters, hospitals, and health social service providers that are not connected to each other. Over the next three years, the Collaborative will direct Helmsley resources to develop solutions to close this gap, build pathways to strengthen New York City’s homeless healthcare system, and improve patients’ health stability and well-being.
“Rooted in New York City, Helmsley is committed to helping our neighbors live healthier lives and addressing systemic challenges is a priority for homeless New Yorkers,” said Tracy Perrizo, Program Officer at the Helmsley Charitable Trust. “There is tremendous energy, experience, and unflagging commitment among these healthcare providers. This collaboration is poised to transform the homeless healthcare system and ensure better health outcomes for all who use it.”
For the roughly 60,000 New Yorkers experiencing homelessness and residing in NYCDHS shelters on any given night, health issues often lead to or prolong their housing instability. At the same time, individuals experiencing homelessness are among the highest users of healthcare services in the city.
Using shared metrics and goals, the Collaborative will develop new solutions to improve care coordination and implement upgrades that aim to benefit healthcare providers, DHS, and most importantly, the people they serve.
[...]
“Project Renewal is thrilled to be part of the Collaborative for Homeless Healthcare’s vital mission to improve the healthcare system for homeless New Yorkers. Each year, through substance use disorder treatment programs, medical clinics and mobile vans, and psychiatric services, Project Renewal provides healthcare to nearly 13,000 people who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless,” said Jody Rudin, COO of Project Renewal. “We look forward to working with our tremendous partners to provide coordinated, high-quality care that will bring wellness and stability to the lives of our patients and to all”
You can read the full press release here and The Wall Street Journal’s coverage of the Collaborative here.
