Contra Costa Health’s (CCH) Health, Housing, and Homeless Services (H3) initiative offers a wide range of Community Supports to help adults, youth, and families experiencing homelessness across the county. As a Providing Access and Transforming Health (PATH) Capacity and Infrastructure Transition, Expansion, and Development (CITED) awardee, CCH is investing in staff and programs to best serve the complex needs of plan members.
In March 2024, CCH’s California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) team received a referral for a Medi-Cal member who had been experiencing homelessness off and on for the past 20 years. Despite an extensive work history, this individual’s life took a challenging turn after a severe accident left them with debilitating injuries, leading to a prolonged period of homelessness.
The CalAIM team enrolled the member in housing navigation services and completed comprehensive assessments. Through motivational interviewing and trauma-informed care, the team worked closely with the member to understand their goals and vision for their health and overall well-being.
For the next few months, H3’s CalAIM Care Coordinator was a constant source of support, helping the member navigate their housing options. Since the member’s health care and Community Supports were all based in Contra Costa County, they were initially hesitant about finding housing outside their familiar surroundings. The Care Coordinator was undeterred, working diligently to find local housing options while respecting the member’s desire to stay close to their support network. After much effort, they secured a subsidized housing voucher in a neighboring county.
Understanding how crucial it was for the member to stay in their community, the Care Coordinator took the additional step of facilitating the process to transfer the housing voucher back to Contra Costa County. Together, they found an ideal apartment in the member’s preferred area. The Care Coordinator provided hands-on support through every step—assisting with lease signing, helping to coordinate move-in costs, and connecting the member with local organizations that provided furnishings for their new home.
Once the member was settled in, the Care Coordinator enrolled them in Tenancy Sustaining Services and continues to offer ongoing support with aftercare and housing tenancy needs.
“This success story would not have been possible without the support from PATH funding,” said Jenny Robbins of H3. “PATH has allowed us to create a dedicated CalAIM team and empowered our Care Coordinator to use best practices to identify a long-term, sustainable housing solution for our member.”
Thanks to the collaborative efforts of H3’s team and the resources made possible by PATH funding, this member now has a safe, stable home and the support they need to thrive.
Have you applied for funding to support your organization’s workforce, vendor contracting, IT, community assessment and other Medi-Cal needs necessary to deliver ECM and Community Supports?