POLICY MATTERS
A monthly update on policy issues in the fight against homelessness in NYC.
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CFH Goes to Albany to Advocate for Better Healthcare Policies
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Hundreds and hundreds of advocates will rally in Albany on Monday, March 5, advocating for better healthcare policies for poor and vulnerable at-risk people in New York State. Care for the Homeless will be represented by fifteen client leaders and staff, specifically advocating for policies to help people experiencing homelessness or unstably housed.
We’ll also be meeting with many of our State Assembly Members and State Senators about the proposed state budget scheduled to be adopted in March, and other issues important to homeless people and very low-income New Yorkers. Our agenda includes urging more support for the 430 Community Health Center sites in the state that serve over 1.2 million low income patients – that’s about one of every seven New Yorkers, and better resources for supportive housing for people in need.
Across the state 76% of the patient population Community Health Centers (CHCs) serve are at or below the federal poverty line. In our Care for the Homeless health centers more than 90% of our patients are below the poverty line. The patients CHCs serve are people most in need of access to healthcare, and they are in critical need of these services.
Read more here.
Other CFH agenda items include allocating a minimum of $60 million of the Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program for community-based healthcare providers, and fully funding the state’s commitment to provide 15,000 units of supportive housing in New York City.
Monday’s advocacy will be a long day, with our bus scheduled to leave the Bronx at 6:30 a.m., but it’s critical to let our state leaders know how important these programs are to people in need. We’ll also be reporting on state budget issues and our advocacy efforts at our next Care for the Homeless Policy Briefing, Monday, March 12, at 5:30 p.m., at the 5
th
floor conference room at 30 E. 33
rd
Street. The program is free and open to the public.
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Council Member Fernando Cabrera Tours Susan's Place Shelter and Health Center
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Bronx Council Member Fernando Cabrera, earlier this week, joined CFH Executive Director George Nashak in touring the Care for the Homeless women’s shelter and our community health center at our Susan’s Place location on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx. Cabrera spoke Susan’s place residents, health center patients and staff at the two programs.
At the health center, medical providers showed the Council Member the facilities providing primary, preventative and ongoing medical and mental health care to patients, including dentistry. The Councilperson had his blood pressure taken at the facility, which is an open access site, meaning it is open to the community, and provides services to all people experiencing homelessness, unstably housed and at risk of homelessness. No one is ever turned away at a CFH community Health Center regardless of having or not having insurance, ability to pay or documentation.
Council Member Cabrera also met with CFH staff and Susan’s Place residents to discuss city policies affecting homelessness and people with extremely low incomes or living in deep poverty. Cabrera and CFH ED Nashak had an in-depth conversation about misperceptions of what causes homelessness and who makes up the homeless population in New York City. Cabrera and Nashak both agreed many New Yorkers experiencing homelessness work fulltime or are actively seeking employment.
The CFH Policy and Advocacy program has been meeting with Cabrera to help develop and support city programs and policies to effectively fight, prevent and end homelessness. We look forward to continuing that work.
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CFH Peer Outreach Program Proves Successful in Providing Healthcare Access to New Yorkers Most In Need
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The Care for the Homeless team has been running a highly successful Peer-to-Peer Outreach program for the last four years to deliver healthcare access for the most underserved population in New York: people experiencing homelessness or unstably housed. Our citywide peer outreach program finds and serves homeless people not accessing healthcare, or not appropriately using primary, preventative and ongoing healthcare, by working out of our 23 community health centers co-located in homeless shelters, soup kitchens or drop-in centers in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.
Supervised by a professional outreach specialist and our staff of health providers, trained peer-outreach-workers find and assist people experiencing homelessness in accessing healthcare, in making and keeping appointments and with appropriate ongoing treatment. Our peer workers, currently or formerly homeless persons themselves, are especially adept at finding and connecting with others experiencing homelessness. They can often communicate and build trust others are unable to duplicate. For both sides this is a life-changing, sometimes life-saving opportunity.
Read more here.
We believe appropriate health care is a human right, and many times, it is the first step out of homelessness. Our Peer Outreach program provides health access, dramatically improves health outcomes and it saves public resources in avoiding emergency room visits and unnecessary hospitalizations. CFH and its client leaders will be meeting with City Council members in the coming months to advocate for increased funding for this highly successful outreach model.
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The Busy Advocate's March Calendar
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Mon., March 5th, 6:30 a.m.
,
Advocacy Day for New York's Community Health Centers and Their Patients,
Advocates will head to Albany to advocate for issues involving homelessness and healthcare. CFH client leaders wishing to participate must let us know in advance. Bus will leave promptly from NYC at 6:30 a.m.
Mon., March 12th, 5:30 p.m.,
CFH “First Monday” Policy Briefing on Advocacy and the New York State Budget,
CFH Conference Room, 30 E. 33rd Street, Manhattan, NY.
RSVP here.
Thur., March 15th, 1:00 p.m., Housing not Handcuffs Web Conference,
quarterly conference organized by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. You can register
here
to participate.
Tue., March 20th, 2:00 p.m., NY City Council Budget Hearing on mental health, disabilities and addiction,
NYC City Hall, 250 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
Fri., March 23rd, 12:00 a.m., The current federal continuing resolution for funding government expires
. Congress and the White House will need to pass a new federal budget or a new continuing resolution by this date to avoid another government shutdown.
Tue., March 27th, 10:00 a.m. City Budget Hearing,
City Council General Welfare Committee, Department of Homeless Services and Human Resources Administration budget hearing, NYC City Hall, 250 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
Wed., March 28th, 12:30 p.m., CAB Client Leader Meeting
, CFH Conference Room, 30 E. 33rd Street, Manhattan, NY.
Sat., March 31st
, End of New York State fiscal year meaning a new state budget will be adopted.
Mon., April 2nd, 5:30 pm., CFH “First Monday” Policy Briefing,
CFH Conference Room, 30 E. 33rd Street, Manhattan, NY.
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A monthly update on policy issues in the fight against homelessness in NYC.
Thank you for your generous support of our mission.
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