CalOptima Health, the provider of publicly funded health coverage in Orange County, recently awarded $29 million to 29 local organizations to boost services for the county’s homeless population.
The biggest chunk, $21 million, will go toward the creation of more permanent supportive housing.
Along with acquiring or building additional housing, the funding is being directed to organizations to help expand the availability of their services, such as by adding staff, and to enhance programs that support underrepresented populations such as members of the LGBTQ+ community or certain ethnic groups.
The grants come from California’s Department of Health Services’ Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program, which aims to address housing insecurity for Medi-Cal members by ensuring those experiencing homelessness have access to housing and the services they need to remain housed. CalOptima is the local provider for the state.
“We know that a person’s ability to be healthy is more determined by external, social factors than (just) going to the doctor,” Kelly Bruno-Nelson, CalOptima’s executive director of Medi-Cal/CalAIM. “Housing is health; it is impossible to be healthy on the street.”
This round of funding is part of a new initiative from CalOptima to address housing needs with its healthcare support services.
“That was what we wanted to accomplish so that we can make sure that all boats are rising at the same time,” she said. “We’re not just funding the larger nonprofits, but we’re expanding that net to serve everyone.”
American Family Housing was awarded a $2.9 million capital grant that will go toward the construction of more than 100 units of both supportive and affordable housing, hopefully by next year. Milo Peinemann, CEO of American Family Housing, said housing is a component of what helps people be healthy.
“If you give people a chance to get on their own feet, a place they could sleep and get access to food, people will do…
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