You’ve seen the talk that this winter will be difficult; shorter days and colder temperatures portend higher rates of COVID-19 and little outdoor exercise. For frontline homeless service providers, staff are challenged to manage trauma from their own lives while navigating second-hand trauma from the people they serve. But even during these difficult times, there is a […]
Category: Mental and Behavioral Health
Additional Money Follows the Person (MFP) Funding Available: Let’s Make It Work for People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced $165 million in supplemental funding to states currently operating Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration programs. MFP allows Medicaid beneficiaries with disabilities, including older adults, in inpatient facilities (e.g., hospitals, […]
Behavioral Health Disparities in Black and Brown Communities: Making the Connection Between COVID-19 and Racism
By now, it is clear who is getting disproportionately sick and who is disproportionately dying from COVID-19: Black and Brown people. A recent Yale study shows that Black people have the most glaring disparity – they are 3.5 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than White people. Other minority groups are disproportionately impacted as well. For example, […]
Fact Sheet: Population At-Risk – Homelessness and the COVID-19 Crisis
People experiencing homelessness are uniquely at risk for contracting COVID-19. The Alliance’s Homelessness Research Institute has compiled a fact sheet on COVID-19 and homelessness, based on researchers’ recent recommendations on how to serve this vulnerable population during the pandemic. These recommendations […]
Using Medicaid Waivers to Improve Access to Care for People Experiencing Homelessness During COVID-19
Following President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency, Florida became the first state to get approved for an 1135 Medicaid waiver in response to coronavirus (COVID-19). 1135 waivers allow the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to set aside administrative requirements to increase access to medical […]