Integrated Health Homes & Housing Retention

Affordable housing and homelessness

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Program participants typically experience trauma when unhoused and many have co-occurring mental illness, substance use disorders, and chronic disease. They lack a stable living environment, and many lack health care coverage, a medical home, and have serious untreated chronic conditions that are exacerbated by their chronic exposure to the elements, poor nutrition, lack of preventative medical and dental care, untreated mental illness, and/or substance use. When they are on the streets, they experience violence, accidents, illness, and/or overdoses. The overarching goal will be to provide an Emergency Housing environment so people can heal from their traumatic experiences and work towards permanent housing.

The overarching goal will be to provide an Emergency Housing environment so people can heal from their traumatic experiences and work towards permanent housing. While staying at Ascencia’s Emergency Housing program, clients will receive individualized supportive and health-related services: trauma therapy, art therapy for children, psychiatric services, monthly on-site mobile medical unit services, health education, family therapy, occupational therapy, psychological and physical safety via shelter, outsourced security staff, outsourced sanitation and custodial services, and financial literacy classes so they can retain housing.
Ascencia will enroll 26 unhoused adult participants into our Emergency Housing program.
1. 100% of adult participants will improve their life skills by participating in financial literacy classes or individual life skills training sessions within 60 days of entering the Emergency Housing program.
2. 80% or (21 of 26) participants will be connected to a medical home within 30 days of admission to the Interim Housing program.
3. 38% or (10 of 26) participants will access one health service such as primary health care, vision care, health education, psychiatry, trauma therapy, or addiction recovery support within 60 days of admission to the Emergency/Interim Housing program.
4. 38% or (10 of 26) participants will access Tele-Psychiatry, Trauma Therapy, the Medical Mobile Unit, and/or Occupational Therapy within 60 days of admission.

The target population will be extremely low-income adults who are experiencing homelessness throughout Los Angeles County. Homelessness affects everyone directly or indirectly, however BIPOC and sexual minorities experience much higher rates of homelessness. (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2020 and UCLA School of Law - Williams Institute, 2020). We strive to break down the institutional and attitudinal barriers that prevent the marginalized groups of people we will serve from getting out of the cycles of poverty and homelessness.