From Results of the 2010 Capitol Region Vulnerability Index

The Capitol Region Vulnerability Index brings to the forefront a crisis that has remained faceless and unnamed for so long… that people experiencing homelessness in the Capitol Region are at risk of dying on the streets and in shelter without access to safe, affordable, permanent supportive housing. And that all too often those that are at greatest risk of dying often have the most barriers to accessing housing and experience longer lengths of homelessness further exasperating their risk of death.

Through the utilization of the Vulnerability Index, the Capitol Region has been able to identify those most in need. Next, as a community, we must ensure their access to housing. Ensuring access to permanent supportive housing to those who are most vulnerable in our community not only saves lives but also saves money. There needs to be a commitment to house those that are most medically vulnerable as quickly and efficiently as possible. This includes working with all stakeholders including the local Veteran’s Administration, Housing Authorities, Supportive Housing Providers, and advocacy with local, state and federal government representatives for additional resources to house those most in need.

In order to both reduce costs and save lives, access to primary and preventative health care services should be streamlined for those experiencing homelessness. Additionally, health care and housing, specifically supportive housing, should be linked in order to provide a holistic approach to ensuring the success of formerly homeless individuals. Examples exist from across the country to draw upon including the Hospital to Home program lead by Catherine Craig, Health Integrator for Common Ground’s Hospital to Home Program. Many clients are not linked to Primary care physicians to perform routine physicals, prescribe medications, and schedule appointments for minor health concerns. This linkage to mainstream health care could significantly decrease the expenses in healthcare for the Capitol Region. As stated earlier, wrap around services attached to supportive housing increase the chances of a client to be linked to community resources such as mainstream medical providers.

In sum, the results of Vulnerability Index confirm that homelessness in the Capitol Region is a crisis of life and death for many members of our community. These results embolden the Capitol Region to improve its response to the needs of its most vulnerable. As such, Journey Home recommends the following steps be taken to improve the Capitol Region’s response to this crisis:

• Conduct the VI survey with all new clients who enter shelter and annually throughout the Region to identify those at greatest risk of mortality;
• Develop targeted housing and services solutions, permanent supportive housing, for identified clients;
• Increase linkages between permanent supportive housing and medical, health and wellness services in the Capitol Region;
• Conduct data analysis to identify the most costly frequent users of health and emergency services in the Capitol Region;
• Track cost effectiveness of supportive housing as a means of reducing the use of emergency services, improving health status and mortality risk among vulnerable homeless;
• Increase public investment in housing and services interventions for vulnerable homeless, including strategies that tap mainstream public funding such as Medicaid, TANF, etc. and
• Increase private and philanthropic giving to support innovation around new interventions and strategies for ending homelessness.