HASC is conducting a unique, two-part study on the road to creating new hospital-community partnerships to address the region’s homelessness challenges. 

The effort is modeled on Haven for Hope, a homeless transformation campus in San Antonio, Texas.

HASC members who attended April’s Board of Directors meeting in Santa Barbara heard a vivid account of the campus from its then project organizer Scott Ackerson.

Today, Ackerson is a principal at Health Management Associates, or HMA, the consultancy leading the HASC study. This month, the firm is working to develop a comprehensive plan to address homelessness as it impacts HASC member hospitals. 

“Homelessness is a deep issue in many of the communities we serve,” said HASC CEO George W. Greene. “We can’t solve this problem alone. But using Haven for Hope and its best practices as a model, we are excited and believe we can effect meaningful change.”

Unlike Haven for Hope’s single-campus model, the HASC-led concept envisions multiple community locations to deliver support and services — and a utilization of best practices to bolster existing initiatives, Greene explained.

HMA will conduct a comprehensive system scan to identify existing service providers and resources available to support coordination of care and housing disposition for homeless consumers in the six counties. 

Ackerson’s firm will then conduct a capacity and strengths assessment and gap analysis of resources and providers of the service system, and will present its findings and recommendations to HASC leadership. A full report will then be presented to the HASC Board for discussion in early fall.

The assessment is funded by the Cedars-Sinai, Kaiser and Providence health systems.

Contact:
Isela Rivas
(213) 538-0704
irivas@hasc.org