As we enthusiastically celebrate National Health Center Week 2025, CSH proudly recognizes the invaluable contributions that community health centers make in promoting access to healthcare services. These centers are essential lifelines for individuals facing challenges such as homelessness, housing instability, or reentry from incarceration. Community health centers address immediate health needs and also foster long-term wellness and stability, ensuring that some of the most vulnerable members of our society receive the compassionate support and resources they need and deserve.
Increasing access to affordable healthcare services in health center settings can help prevent over-reliance on costly emergency departments and other crisis care facilities. Moreover, ensuring access to healthcare for everyone allows individuals to avoid or better manage chronic health conditions.
At CSH, we recognize that housing is an essential component of health care. As a technical assistance provider and health center partner, through the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Bureau of Primary Health Care (HRSA BPHC), our goal is to enhance the integration of housing and health services.
Supporting Health Centers Through HRSA BPHC Activities, CSH’s work focuses on:
- Building effective partnerships between health centers, housing providers, and legal systems.
- Assisting health centers in collecting and utilizing data that demonstrates how stable housing support improves health outcomes.
- Identifying service gaps for individuals exiting the criminal justice system, or those experiencing chronic homelessness.
- Providing health centers with practical tools and guidance to help them navigate the intersection of housing and healthcare.
New Resources to Advance Your Work
Gap Analysis on Post-Incarceration Health Care and Housing Linkage
This resource is designed to assist health centers in identifying key components for effective programming for HIV+ individuals leaving carceral settings, ensuring smooth linkage to care and housing following discharge.
Guide to Key Outcomes and Data Tracking
This guide enhances understanding of the health conditions experienced by individuals navigating housing instability. Utilizing existing data elements monitored at the intersection of health and housing allows professionals to reduce the administrative burden associated with new data tracking mechanisms while streamlining operations to improve health outcomes.