Bruno Ornelas’ Post

There is a vicious cycle tied to homelessness and health outcomes. Poor health often causes homelessness, and experiencing chronic homelessness can lead to new health conditions or worsen existing ones. While the growing challenge of reducing homelessness needs to be addressed at the policy level, there are things we can do to better support those impacted. https://uhc.care/9hyx5o

Excellent article in Health Affairs on Homelessness and Health. There are many programs subsidizing and providing funds for housing, so why is housing an ongoing problem? It clearly is. This article provides one viewpoint. I am interested in hearing from our housing advocates and housing resources if this article fits with their on the ground experiences. Kelly Matter from Avivo your perspective would be especially helpful.

🏚️ How can health and care support break the cycle of #homelessness? Dr Michela Tinelli, a health and care economist at Care Policy and Evaluation Centre (CPEC), is investigating how out-of-hospital care models can provide more meaningful care for people experiencing homelessness. Her research is contributing to data-driven decision-making that will improve these services.

Doing some research on recovery and homelessness, came across this guidance Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Health Care for Homeless People. Although it is from 1988, the same challenges for delivering healthcare to this population exist today. Especially when dealing with transitional or outpatient related care for addiction recovery. When I spoke to people at our center or through our outreach, these were common issues: 1. It takes drugs to get off drugs…it is the recommended way to start the recovery process even for alcohol or nicotine 2. If you get clean in jail or a facility and you don’t have access to those drugs, you are at a higher risk of relapse 3. It is hard to keep up with your medications on the street due to theft, lack of suitable storage or refrigeration, loss from camp sweeps What struck me are the solutions identified. In summary, communication, collaboration, targeted approach, and internal and external resources. Communication and collaboration are crucial to delivering value especially when no one organization is the one stop shop to solving addiction or homelessness. It takes many organizations working together. However, we are not always incentivized to do go outside of our financial scope or organizational boxes to reach out to others. At Be a Light Mission Service Center, Inc , we could not offer the help we provide to people in need without partnerships (collaboration) and lots of breaking information silos (communication). It is a really good read to understand the challenges and some tips for #addictionrecovery and #healthcare for people experiencing #homelessness Health Care Services for Homeless People. Available from: https://lnkd.in/eu4rZxMT

A Place to Recover: How Medical Respite Programs Help Unhoused People Heal https://lnkd.in/eNgxc_pC. "Rest. Heal. Recover. To people with serious illnesses and injuries who are also experiencing homelessness, those three words seem impossible to achieve.  Over the last decade, medical respite care programs have been bridging the gap between housing and health care for people experiencing homelessness. These programs provide private space for unhoused folks who are too ill to recover from an illness or injury on the streets, but do not require hospital-level treatment." #Homelessness #HousingInsecurity #Vulnerability #Respite #Unhoused #TSR

🚨People experiencing homelessness have higher levels of physical and mental ill-health as opposed to people who are adequately housed. In some countries, the average age of death for people experiencing homelessness is up to 30 years lower compared to the general population. The complex health needs, reluctance to access #healthcare, and administrative and financial barriers have led to homeless organisations increasingly providing essential health services for this population. How are #homelessness services stepping up to offer essential healthcare support, and what practices are proving most effective ❓ 🩺 On this #WorldHealthDay, we want to highlight good practices in health services across the homelessness sector. Our 'Mapping Healthcare in Homelessness Services' report, published last December, provides an overview of the 23 types of interventions developed within the sector, as well as case examples from homelessness services offering medical support. ➡ Access it here: https://bit.ly/3POS3xm

Although this is an American article, is any organization or group advocating for governments to fund this in Canada? As someone who is learning to live with chronic osteoarthritis, my patient journey through my initial diagnosis and ultimately surgery took 4 years of living and working with increasing levels of chronic pain. Once you live with constant pain 24 hours a day with limited relief, you gain immense respect and empathy for people living with chronic pain their whole life. People without a strong support network, a health care team who believes them, and a supportive workplace, understandably end up with multiple health complications, including mental health. Having no consistent safe place to rest and recover adds another layer of stress and unnecessary pain. People living with chronic pain need more than a bed in a communal shelter at night. Sometimes, they need a bed throughout the day. Sadly, I see far too many people - particularly older Canadians who do not have a home or supportive network - walking our streets today; enduring incredible pain. My heart breaks seeing Elder Canadians bent over walkers or wheelchairs struggling on our streets waiting for shelter beds to open. Everyone deserves a safe bed to rest, recuperate or to live their remaining days. Every Canadian deserves access to medications, devices and supplies that improves their health, eases their pain and provides the comfort of knowing they are safe while resting. We can’t predict tomorrow but with the increasing number of Elder Boomers - particularly women - who are either living on our streets or couch surfing across our communities, the challenges to our Emergency Departments and acute care system will continue to grow for the next 20 years…. Charities, non-profits and the private sector should be invited by governments to partner on pragmatic research studies or implementation projects to determine whether this model is appropriate for people in our country. While I am not an expert in housing and homelessness, I would be honoured to lend my health policy expertise within government and my advocacy experience with patient groups to support Elders - and all citizens - gain access to appropriate healthcare no matter where they live in Canada.

Could medical respite programs be the key to closing the health care to homelessness pipeline? "We live in a country where not everyone believes that access to health care is a human right; not everyone believes that access to housing is a human right; not everyone believes that housing is health care. And I think that those three things are linked together and are some of the important ingredients to have when closing the hospital to homelessness pipeline,” says Devora Keller of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. Learn how medical respite programs are transforming care for unhoused people by offering them a safe and secure place to heal. https://lnkd.in/eS5qagRE #MedicalRespitePrograms #HealthCareForAll #HousingIsHealth

#Homelessness presents a pressing public health emergency, carrying potentially fatal outcomes that are preventable. Keeping people in their homes, steering clear of eviction proceedings, shelters, and streets demands a unified effort from state, local, and federal policymakers, alongside the faith community, business sector, and philanthropy.   By advocating for stronger, more coordinated systems that provide stable housing, we have the power to make a difference and ensure everyone has a place to call home. #endhomelessness Learn more: https://bit.ly/4cFPBTL

Today the homeless crisis that has developed over the last 50 years reaches #SCOTUS in the Grants Pass case. The number of homeless has exploded at the same time that heavy-handed government restrictions on land use have increased. That's not a coincidence. The homeless crisis is downstream of the housing affordability crisis, a problem created by government land-use regulators at all levels. To fix this public-policy created crisis, we need to change public policy. I know some of you are saying to yourself, "isn't the homeless crisis driven by drug addiction and mental illness?" Actually, it's not--as I explained in Pacific Legal Foundation's amicus brief in the case and summarized in this piece published by Fox News this morning. Give it a read: https://lnkd.in/eQw2fNFx