Housing for Health, Los Angeles County

The Housing for Health (HFH) Division at the Department of Health Services (DHS) was created in 2013 with a focus on creating permanent supportive housing opportunities for homeless patients of the DHS system of care. DHS is reinvesting in communities by providing supportive and clinical services to our most vulnerable populations. Access to community based housing options is an important element of our evolving county healthcare system, particularly in response to the homeless crisis. By housing homeless persons who have been high utilizers of DHS services with complex medical and behavioral health conditions, Housing for Health made its mark in the homeless services area by meeting the following objectives: Improve the health and well-being of a vulnerable population that typically experiences long episodes of homelessness, high rates of disability, multiple untreated health conditions, and early mortality. Reduce costs to the public health system incurred by a relatively small, but costly cohort of individuals, whom due to their lack of housing, remained hospitalized for greater lengths of time and/or have repeated and unnecessary contact with the public health system. Demonstrate DHS' commitment to improve living conditions for homeless people within Los Angeles county. HFH is also a key partner of The Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (Board of Supervisors or Board) approved the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative (LACHI) recommendations, including 47 strategies to combat homelessness, on February 9, 2016. Many of those strategies allowed HFH to expand services to more people experiencing homelessness who are vulnerable and medically complex while working with other public agencies such as, the departments of Mental Health, Public Health- Substance Abuse Prevention and Control and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.