In this issue

• 5 national groups providing expert guidance for FCS
• 9 communities use housing to contain health care costs
• Chicago hospital houses homeless patients
• Renewing focus on housing discrimination
• FCS enrollment for March
• Save this date - Housing First Partners Conference

Connections

Events

• Inland Northwest Fair Housing Conference
  April 11, 2019
  Spokane, WA
  Register for this event.

• Community Health Worker Conference
  April 11-12, 2019 Wenatchee, WA
  Register for this event.

• Cash, Medical Benefits, and Employment: Providing essential information to improve employment outcomes
  April 16 in Sumner, WA
  Register for this training.

• Source of Income Protections from Discrimination in Rental Housing Transactions
  April 25, 8:30 to 10 AM
  Register for this webinar.

• Communities Joined in Action Conference
  April 24-26, 2019
  Seattle, WA
  Register for this event

• Saying It Out Loud Conference
  April 29, 2019
  Tacoma, WA
  Register for this event.

• Cash, Medical Benefits, and Employment: Providing Essential Information to Improve Employment Outcomes
  May 6, 2019
  Spokane, WA
  Register for this event.

• Healthier Washington Quarterly Webinar series:
  Tribal health systems and Medicaid Transformation
  May 9, noon to 1 pm
  Register for this webinar

• Healthier Washington Quarterly Webinar series:
  An overview of the clinical data repository
  Aug. 13, noon to 1 pm
  Register for this webinar.

Resources

• February 2019 Supported Employment Report
• February 2019 Supportive Housing Report

• HCA partnering with Coordinated Care in potential new integrated care model for kids.
  Read full story.

• WA State Pathways to Employment website
• WA State Pathways to Housing website

• Announcement - Recruiting for health care workforce sentinels in full swing.

• Follow the FCS calendar for trainings and events.

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HW newsletter & announcements

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A new blog from HCA

5 national groups providing expert guidance for FCS

Five national organizations are providing Washington with cutting-edge expertise as the state rolls out its foundational community support services. 

The organizations are:

• Advocates for Human Potential, Chicago, IL
• Rutgers University, N.J.
• CSH Corporation for Supportive Housing, Chicago, IL
• Public Consulting Group, Inc., Boston, MA
• Technical Assistance Collaborative, Boston, MA

Assistant Professor Tom Bartholomew from Rutgers University leading an FCS training in Wenatchee earlier this month. He is a specialist in Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling.

Melodie Pazolt, HCA's Assistant Deputy Director for Behavioral Health and Recovery said the combined knowledge and wisdom of this group is yielding powerful outcomes.

"Washington is moving fast to roll out foundational community supports," Pazolt said. "Having this incredible brain-trust is helping us avoid costly and time consuming pitfalls."

9 communities use housing to contain health care costs

Read the full story.

Chicago hospital houses homeless patients

In a 3-year experiment, the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago provided housing to people who had been frequent users of emergency department services. The experiment was so successful that, in 2018, the hospital doubled the housing program’s size. Now, it’s looking for ways to expand the program even further.

Read the full story.

Renewing focus on housing discrimination

April is National Fair Housing Month. It's a good time to recommit to the ideals of the Fair Housing Act and to ending housing discrimination. Here are some resources to help:

• HUD fair housing/Washington State
• The basics of fair housing, a video featuring Seattle/HUD's Kristina Miller.

Supported Employment grant opportunity

SAMHSA is accepting applications for Transforming Lives through Supported Employment grants (Supported Employment Program). 

SAMHSA plans to issue 7 grants of up to $800,000 per year for up to 5 years.

Application Due Date: Friday, May 17, 2019

FCS enrollment for March

Enrollment in Supportive Housing and Supported Employment continue to climb. Here are numbers as of March 31:

• FCS housing & employment -- 405
• FCS employment -- 1,752
• FCS housing -- 1,360
• Total enrollment -- 3,517

Save this date - Housing First Partners Conference

The Housing First Partners Conference is coming to Washington for the first time in 2020. Save the date!