NATIONAL HEALTH CARE FOR THE HOMELESS COUNCIL
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | SUMMER 2010
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Greetings!
The end of this very hot summer will bring some relief to
our neighbors without homes, who suffer terribly from the heat. Thanks to all of you who have worked to provide
shelter and drinking water and sun block and first aid to those most in
need.
As you have worked in your own communities, the National HCH
Council has worked on our end to help break the deadly links between poor
health and homelessness. This letter
recounts just a couple of highlights of this summer's work.
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We are bringing to a close a year of research on the
training and technical assistance needs of the HCH community. We've conducted key informant interviews,
focus groups and surveys among hundreds of clinicians, administrators and
consumers to identify the areas where the Council can be most helpful in our
educational work to improve care.
The final Needs Assessment Report will point to important
clinical concerns and operational considerations, but we have also learned about a key part of our target audience, HCH project administrators. Of 285 HCH administrators who responded,
- 74% are female
- 54% are over the
age of 50
- 73% are
Caucasian / white
- Over half have
10+ years of work in HCH
Over 25 years, the first generation of HCH leaders has
developed unique knowledge and strong values, as well as the learning
technologies and approaches to pass them on to our successors. The Needs Assessment will prove an important
tool for focusing our training and technical assistance work, helping to obviate the need for a future third generation of HCH leaders!
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REGIONAL
HCH TRAINING - NOVEMBER IN NASHVILLE
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This summer we've been planning a series of Regional HCH
Trainings, intended to complement our annual National Conference with more accessible, smaller meetings.
The Southeast Regional Training
will be in the National Council's hometown of Nashville, Tennessee on November
3rd & 4th. Its focus is "Health Care Reform: Understanding, Planning, and Thriving",
and the agenda will include workshops on Outreach, Medical
Respite Care, Supportive Housing, Medical Homes, Consumer Advisory Boards and other topics
central to HCH in a rapidly evolving environment.
Like a majority of our learning opportunities, this Southeast
Regional Training is jointly sponsored by Vanderbilt University School of
Medicine and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. Anyone who is
interested in Health Care for the Homeless is welcome to participate. Please visit our website for additional
information, but act quickly, as space is limited: CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
If you cannot join us in Nashville, make sure to watch your
emails for information about the up-coming Midwest and Northeast Regional
Trainings in Denver and Boston in 2011!
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I was pleased to speak during August at SYNChronicity, a
national meeting connecting HIV and Health networks, and at a CDC Symposium on
Public Health and Homelessness. The
range of partners interested in our work continues to grow, and I hope that you
will participate as you can. Here are
some ways to do so:
Join us - become a Member of the Council now, if you haven't already. Learn more by clicking here. Email us - help raise awareness of the HCH mission and build Council support by sending us the names and email addresses of three individuals you who need to know about the Council's work (or use the Forward Email link at the bottom of the page). And remember that our
advocacy depends on your private contributions: Please donate to support our work, because Health Care and Housing are Human Rights. |
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Thank you for your ongoing support.
Peace,
John N. Lozier, MSSW | Executive Director
615/226-2292 | www.nhchc.org | [email protected]
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HEALTH CARE AND HOUSING ARE HUMAN RIGHTS
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