PHAs and health care facilities can be incredibly important and powerful partners in preventing and ending homelessness.  Moreover, the value of the partnership between a housing system and health care system is likely to pay great dividends for many residents of public and HUD-assisted housing.  For families with young children, aging residents and people with disabilities, this connection can literally save lives.

The Bureau of Primary Health Care, part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) administers the Public Housing Primary Care Program (PHPC). This program provides grants to Community Health Centers (CHCs) to deliver comprehensive, case-managed primary care and preventive health care services, including behavioral health, to residents of public and assisted housing. Programs may operate a clinic on-site in a public housing development or in an area adjacent to the housing development that offers access to services for residents of several public housing and HUD-assisted housing sites. In addition to PHPCs, PHAs can explore partnerships with homeless service providers, Healthcare for the Homeless, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and community organizations funded by state and local mental health agencies to coordinate health services for supportive housing tenants.

 

The Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) administers the Public Housing Primary Care (PHPC) program operated by Community Health Centers in 25 states and Puerto Rico. PHPC programs deliver comprehensive, case-managed, family-based primary care and preventive health care services, including behavioral health.  Programs may operate a clinic on-site in a public housing development or in an area adjacent to the housing development that offers access to services for residents of several public housing and HUD-assisted housing sites.[1] Following are some additional resources for PHAs that are interested in partnering with health care providers.

  • There is extensive information about the linkages between public housing and health care available through the Community Health Partners for Sustainability.
  • The National Center for Health in Public Housing's website provides resources, notifications of grant opportunities, and a portal for communities to request technical assistance to strengthen or create a Public Housing Primary Care Program
  • The Milbank Memorial Fund and the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) published a guide to public housing and supportive services for the frail elderly. Click here for useful tips on how PHAs can provide health services in their facilities or partner with other agencies to provide services.
  • The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Evaluation at HHS recently published an issues paper on how PHAs can serve people experiencing chronic homelessness in supportive housing: Click here to access the paper.
  • The Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC), Inc. published a guide to PHAs on strategies for successfully serving people with disabilities in the Housing Choice Voucher program: Click here for the guide.

 

Return to the PHA Toolkit Home Page or go on to the next section, a Primer on Homelessness and Supportive Housing.

 


[1] Basu, Abirban, Romina Kee, David Buchanan, and Laura S. Sadowski.Comparative Cost Analysis of Housing and Case Management Program for Chronically Ill Homeless Adults Compared to Usual Care. Health Services Research Vol. 47, Issue1pt2

 

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