Homeless Health Care Los Angeles

Causes: Ambulatory & Primary Health Care, Health, Homeless & Housing, Homeless Centers, Human Service Organizations, Human Services, Mental Health, Substance Abuse Dependency, Prevention & Treatment

Mission: Homeless health care los angeles (hhcla) is a community-based organization in los angeles, which provides a comprehensive program for any person in need of health, mental health, housing, or quality of life services. These services reduce the impact of homelessness in the communities of los angeles county. Founded in 1985, hhcla's services have helped more than 150,000 homeless individuals. We provide a variety of services including housing, case management, individual therapy and support groups, referral to treatment, family services, primary medical care, and an array of additional holistic services.

Programs: Community assessment services center (casc): hhcla is one of the eight cascs providing an intake, screening, assessment and referral to care system to facilitate each participant's transition into appropriately identified intensive services and aftercare support. Casc staff conducts an assessment using the addiction severity index tool and a screening brief intervention referral to treatment approach. Individuals are assessed and provided placement referrals for drug/alcohol, mental health, and health treatment, emergency housing and other social services at three locations (hollywood, downtown and boyle heights). Hhcla is the "gatekeeper" agency for los angeles county's service planning area 4 and casc staff provide extra support for individuals to receive appropriate services and support and achieve an improved quality of life. Number of persons served were 4,153 and number of sessions were 4,153

client services: includes the behavioral health and supportive housing services programs. The behavioral health program provides a range of services for individuals living with co-occurring disorders. These individuals have substance use, mental illness, and/or chronic health conditions. The program helps clients achieve their personal goals, while improving their health and wellbeing. Clinicians meet with individual clients and utilize motivational interviewing techniques and an array of evidence-based, protocol-driven, standardized treatment strategies to help identify and access services, treatment and resources. Clients attend treatment groups, which provide additional support. All clients have access to the menu of holistic services offered at hhcla, some of which include acupuncture, mindfulness meditation, yoga, self-help groups, healthcare, psychiatric screening and assessment, and other ancillary services. All of hhcla programs are offered in both english and spanish, and childcare is available. Supportive housing services help homeless individuals get connected to permanent supportive housing and intensive case management ensures that they find homes and stabilize their physical and mental health. Individuals served in this program are frequent users of hospitals, health centers, shelters and emergency rooms. Hhcla utilizes the housing first philosophy and chronically homeless are immediately relieved of living on the streets or in shelters and placed in permanent housing linked with intensive case management and other supportive services. Hhcla embraces "housing is a right" philosophy and does not require clients to be sober in order to receive housing services. To meet the need for housing, hhcla continues to expand available housing resources and currently has contracts with the city and county of los angeles housing authorities for tenant based section 8 vouchers/spc certificates, department of health services housing for health program, and is the westlake/silverlake coordinated entry system hub. Hhcla housing program is designed to "screen-in" clients for housing services, while targeting the most vulnerable populations and reducing barriers to access available permanent housing opportunities. Hhcla also provides clients with motel vouchers and/or linkage to temporary housing resources as they work towards securing permanent housing placement. Number of persons served were 1,603 and number of sessions were 22,367.

training and education: hhcla's training and education program provides innovative health education training and technical assistance to homeless shelters, community health clinics, hospitals, and community-based providers. The training program identifies systematic challenges in the changing landscape of programs serving the homeless in los angeles county. The training team assesses the needs of the programs and develops trainings to educate providers to ensure safe working environments. Since 1985, more than 75,000 individuals have participated in hhcla's conferences and trainings. Hhcla uses its front-of-the-line experience as a leader in serving the chronically homeless and those with chronic illness, mental health, and drug use challenges to create and develop training sessions for professionals throughout los angeles county. Number of persons served were 1,088 and number of sessions were 90

center for harm reduction: the center for harm reduction, located in downtown skid row, has a syringe exchange program, which provides integrated treatment and prevention, as well as disease management for any injection drug user. Every day injection drug users from all over la county come into the exchange to pick up new syringes and drop off used ones to be disposed of safely. This building also hosts our healing, arts, and wellness program. Participants live in skid row supportive housing and have access to an array of holistic services including acupuncture, tai chi, and mindful meditation, as well as a computer lab and other creative programming featuring art therapy and jewelry making. The philosophy of the healing, arts, and wellness program is to give those living in skid row an alternative place to spend time. Participants experience a safer environment, which leads to an improved quality of life. Also at our center for harm reduction, we operate an overdose prevention and response training program that equips drug users and their friends and family members with the knowledge, tools, and support needed to prevent accidental overdoses using naloxone, an antidote to opioid overdose. This peer-based naloxone distribution program seeks to educate the public about overdose prevention methods, and has supplied hundreds of free overdose kits to individuals all over los angeles county. Program participants are able to receive free overdose kit refills when they use their kits to save a life, and if their kits are lost or stolen. Over 700 people have participated in this training, and over 350 successful overdose reversals have been recorded by our participants. Number of persons served were 3,456 and number of sessions were 16,423